Disney, DC: Rise of the Immortals
by RetroWriter2012
Summary: The worlds of Disney and DC Comics collide in this tale centered on a woman who gains the powers of Superman via an experiment that led to her birth. Characters from Darkwing Duck, Duck Tales, and The Incredibles add in on the fun! Reviews are welcomed!
1. Chapter 1

**I**

On the outskirts of Washington, D.C. was a large testing facility, appropriately named The Hamilton Research Center, nestled right in the center of a vast forest. The trees shrouded much of the facility from the sides, severing any ties that it had to the outside world. Only one way of getting to it and that was by helicopter, as there was a landing pad centered on the rooftop of one of the complex's five towers.

Things have been running smoothly at the Center, since it was first established back in 1972. But on the current evening of November 1976, there came a disturbance, as emergency sirens blared throughout the night air, disrupting any peace within the forest. Several scientists and military personnel within in the complex instantly went into frenzy, due to the nature of the emergency. It seemed as if two important volunteers for the research done at the Center had left the facility. And if they were not recovered soon, the "top secret" project would get out to the public for sure.

Unbeknownst to all inside, the two volunteers were already out of the facility, approaching the barbed-wire fence protecting it. The volunteers' names were Alicia Langston, an African American woman in her mid-twenties who was pregnant at the time of the escape, and Sergeant Henry Kelley, a Caucasian man with short, blond hair and sparkling blue eyes in his early-thirties. Henry was the one who orchestrated the escape, carrying a duffel bag filled with three groups of materials: food, clothing, and guns.

Once they got to the fence, Alicia sat down and held her expanded abdomen, taking deep breaths. Henry quickly set the duffel bag down by his side, reached into the left breast pocket of his dark green uniform, and took out a set of pliers that he had stolen from the maintenance room. He commenced in cutting a hole large enough in the fence to allow himself and Alicia to crawl past it and make their way into the forest.

Suddenly, Alicia began moaning in pain, while holding her stomach at the same time. "I think she's coming!"

"No, not right now!" Henry exclaimed, sweating profusely under the intense pressure and humid atmosphere. "We just need a little more time." He could almost hear the marching footsteps of his fellow comrades approaching in the distance. It would be extreme punishment for sure, disobeying a direct order from his superiors. "Didn't you have any idea what they were going to be doing to you here, when you signed up?"

Alicia shook her head. "They just promised me that I would be given the child that I always wanted…and how it'll be part of a 'new wave of the future'."

"In other words…a freak!"

Alicia glared at him; his words struck like a knife to her heart. "My baby is _not_ going to be a…" Before she could finish her retort, she let out another moan, much louder than the one before. It almost seemed serendipitous that the sirens had stopped, once her moaning began, thus attracting attention to their exact position near the fence.

That was the time for Henry to panic; he was nowhere near done cutting a hole in the fence. And if it weren't obvious enough that things were not looking good, a spotlight shined upon him and Alicia from one of the towers, followed by a voice amplified by a loudspeaker. "Remain where you are! If you attempt any resistance, we _will_ use extreme force!"

Inside the tower, the soldier with the loudspeaker was suddenly contacted by his superior via a walkie-talkie. Needless to say, he didn't sound pleased with the warning he just gave whatsoever. "You idiot! I want the woman _alive_! If that means having to take Sergeant Kelley alive with her, then so be it!"

"Yes, sir." The soldier acknowledged, as he watched Henry and Alicia down below. That was when he noticed Henry reach into the duffel bag and pull out something that looked like a handgun. Alarmed, he quickly switched frequencies on his walkie-talkie and alerted the soldiers who were closing in on their location. "Look alive, boys. Kelley is armed and dangerous. If he fires any shots, take him down. I repeat…_take him down_."

By the fence, Alicia continued breathing heavily, feeling the birth of her child coming sooner each moment her pains grew larger. She looked over to Henry and realized how he was holding one of the guns from his bag. Fear overwhelmed her long enough to take her mind off the pain wracking her pregnant body. "What the hell are you doing?"

Henry had his head down low, sweat and tears streaming down his face. "Fifteen years…Fifteen years I spent in the service…and it all comes down to this…very moment."

She was almost worried that these words would be that of a suicidal man. But from the short time that she got to know him, she was certain that he would never take his own life…especially not over a situation as _bizarre_ as this one. Still, she was heavily concerned about the state of mind he was in.

"Look," she said through her panting, "This isn't as bad as it seems. I'm sure they'll understand why we tried to bail out."

"No, they won't." His tears began to overwhelm the sweat. His face was a moist mess of emotions. "You don't understand…the government made me a large piece to this puzzle…and now that it's been fitted in…I'm expendable now." He looked over to her pregnant form and smiled. "But you…you're holding the key to a new, better generation. You must live…or else we won't."

Alicia still had no clue what he was talking about. And before she could've asked, the sound of a door busting open robbed her of the chance. Several armed soldiers piled out of the building, all aiming their guns directly at Henry, who started climbing the barbed-wire fence the moment of their arrival. The soldiers screamed out his name a few times; but when he didn't comply, they opened fire on him. Blood sprayed everywhere, as the bullets were riddled into his back, some even coming out through his front. He was just near the barbed wires at the top of the fence when he was gunned down, and with the life quickly exiting his body, he drooped down over them, tearing his flesh open even more.

At the foot of the fence, Alicia screamed in both horror over Henry's violent death and pain from the birth she was about to give. The soldiers responsible for Sergeant Kelley's death looked on in awe and wonder, almost as if neither of them had ever seen childbirth before. None of them made any attempt whatsoever to help Alicia with either.

And then emerged a medical doctor, pushing his way past the soldiers to get to Alicia. He was dressed in a lab coat and carried a small, black bag in one hand, with a stethoscope hung around his neck. But the stethoscope wouldn't be needed for an occasion such as this. All he really needed were the rubber gloves he kept in his bag to help deliver the baby.

Within a few moments, Alicia gave birth to her baby: a girl with skin that was just as clear and peach-colored as Henry's was. She cried upon taking her first breath of air out in the new world, her small body covered from head to toe in afterbirth. The doctor wiped some of it off with a towel from his bag, before wrapping her up with it and carrying her away, much to Alicia's surprise.

"Wait!" she weakly said. "Where are you going with my baby?"

The doctor didn't respond, as he disappeared past the crowd of soldiers, who still look amazed by the birth of Alicia's baby girl. Another group suddenly appeared—paramedics who were rolling in two stretchers, one for Alicia and one for the dead Henry (with an empty body bag lying on it). While three of the paramedics were gently resting Alicia on her stretcher, the other four were removing Henry's ravaged body from the barbed-wire fence and placing it into the body bag, carrying it off to the Center's morgue area on the stretcher.

Alicia watched as they took him away, his final words to her echoing through her mind repeatedly. She wondered how her child would be a key to "a new, better generation." It was rather a surprise to see how she turned out, just as purely white as her father. But, then again, she _was_ born under unnatural circumstances. Whatever the case, this was still her child and she hoped the doctors would let her see her, before they had done any of their tests.

* * *

The next morning at the Center, Alicia sat quietly in the bed of her room, which was designed closely to resemble a typical hospital room, supposedly to set up a sense of serenity. She was watching a news report on television about famed Metropolis superhero, Mr. Incredible, saving a train full of people before crashing off the tracks right after he prevented a man's suicide and confronted a villain known as "Bomb Voyage." Seeing how truly "incredible" Mr. Incredible was on television, Alicia wished that he was there to prevent the death of a good man on the previous night, so he would see how beautiful her newborn baby looked.

There was a knock on the door and Alicia muted the television set, addressing the person outside. "Come on in."

The door opened and a young, redheaded nurse with the name "Tracey" printed on a gold nametag pinned to the left side of her uniform walked in, carrying Alicia's baby as she was bundled up in a white blanket and fast asleep. "Here you go, Miss Langston." The nurse approached the side of her bed and handed the baby over to her. "The poor little thing had a rough night, but she's okay right now."

Alicia wasn't sure if the nurse's concern was genuine or not. She was not very pleased to see her there, considering all that she went through last evening, as well as the past eight months. But she was, however, delighted to see her new daughter back in her own arms. "Thank you," she told the nurse.

"Is there anything I can get for you, ma'am?"

She looked coldly at the nurse. "Yes…answers. Why are they doing all of this? What's the purpose?"

The nurse fretted with an answer for a brief moment. She then opened her mouth to give one, until a voice interrupted her. "The purpose, Miss Langston, is no longer any concern of yours." They turned to the doorway, where the same doctor that helped deliver her child stood, with a smile on his face. "Your services here at Hamilton won't be needed any more. You've done your part of the experiment, and now you're free to go."

_Free to go?_ Alicia thought angrily to herself. She wanted to get answers from the doctor, regarding her daughter and Sergeant Kelley. But she worried that asking too many questions would result in having her baby taken from her. So she kept silent, as the doctor continued to fake his kindness towards her.

"We're sorry that you had to witness the actions of the recent evening." He stated. "The trauma Sergeant Kelley went through is normal for a project as physically and emotionally demanding as this one. To be honest, it was never in our intentions to cause such stress for him. But he _did_ volunteer and knew the risks before he took them."

Alicia wasn't too certain if she should believe this doctor's words or not. All that she was truly certain about from this whole "experiment" was one thing. "Henry Kelley was the father of my little girl. You made him donate his DNA and mine to create what I'm holding in my arms right now. For what reason, I don't know. But I _do_ know that she'll never get to see him or wonder why her mama looks _nothing_ like her. What am I supposed to tell her when she asks? Huh? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be too proud of being born from an experiment."

The doctor looked down in despair, but not possibly from the issues that Alicia had assessed. From her perspective, he seemed more disgruntled over something else…something that must've had a connection to this experiment. A few seconds of silence and then he finally answered her concerns. "My suggestion would be to just live your life and hers the best way possible, Miss Langston. She will grow up to be a wonderful young woman, just like her mother." With that friendly smile still on his face, he exited the room.

Alicia knew that he was being paid by the government to give her that little speech about living life to the fullest. It must've been the same one he gave to all of the other women involved in this experiment, after they had provided their "services." There was one in particular she met eight months ago that was part of the project, four years prior, and reappeared to have her second child, born from the experiment just as her daughter was, checked up on. Apparently this was a clause in the contract she signed before volunteering—every four years, the mother would have to return for their child to be checked up on. _So much for living life to the fullest!_

But Alicia made a promise to herself that she would in no way, under any circumstances, ever come back to the Center again. Once she was totally away from there, she would change her name from "Langston" to "Kelley" (in memory of her child's father), severing any ties she had with Hamilton. This would only be right for her baby girl, since she would already have enough trouble telling people that she was her biological mother.

"What're you going to name her, if you don't mind me asking?" The nurse inquired.

Alicia didn't mind much at all, since she would be done with that place, after that day. She looked down at her little girl, still sleeping in her arms, and uttered the first name that came to mind. "Heather. I'll call her 'Heather'."


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

16 Years Later

Heather Kelley faced a lot of difficulties that most kids her age did not usually face. Not only was she the only blonde, blue-eyed white girl in her all-black high school, but she was just that in her all-black neighborhood as well. She never paid much mind to it during her elementary school years. But when she got to be eleven years old, it began to sink in how different she was from everyone.

There were times when she would ask her mother how come she looked different from her, her 6-year-old brother Sean, and everyone else. And her mother would just tell her, "Because you come from a special family." Unfortunately, that answer wasn't enough to ease the discomfort she felt whenever she went to school. People would shun her, give her long and awkward glances, and some would even throw distasteful comments over her skin color. She was too young to understand what the hate was all about and never tried to. All that mattered to her was the love and respect she had gotten from her own brother.

Heather was a ninth grade student at her junior high school. Every day before leaving the apartment building she lived in with her mother and brother, she would patiently wait for her brother to be ready, which often took longer than she expected. Sometimes she would be extremely late for class, much to the displeasure of her teacher, Mrs. Carrign. She was the hardest thing about maintaining good conduct in her class, because every single day she would find a reason to get on her case. This woman was a strict, plus-sized teacher with heavily rimmed glasses and a short afro, wearing dresses that normally had flowers on them.

What Mrs. Carrign really hated about Heather the most was how she would distract herself from the bizarre drawings she made during lecture. One particular day, she drew this diamond-shaped figure with the number eight within its boundaries. The diamond's lines were sketched in red, while the eight was sketched in blue and all the white space left over was colored in red. She wasn't all that certain why she made such a drawing or understood what it meant. But she usually drew the first thing that came to mind, such as this image.

Just as she was about to take a moment to ponder its meaning, someone suddenly snatched it from her view and crumpled it into a ball. She looked up to see who it was and was both embarrassed and annoyed to find out that Mrs. Carrign had done it yet again. Looking down at her with those huge glasses that glared from the light coming through the windows, she frowned and sternly said, "Meet me before lunch period, _Miss_ Kelley."

The other students in the class gleefully "ooh-ed" at her, just as they did every other time Mrs. Carrign got onto her. She didn't bother looking at their faces, having a good idea which student was doing it the most and the least. The worst part of it was that none of them got scolded by Mrs. Carrign for doing it. It took the class about a minute to settle down, before she eventually returned to her lecture, with the balled up sketch still in hand.

_This is so not fair_, Heather thought to herself, as she sunk deep down in her chair and shut her eyes tight, fighting back the tears.

* * *

Mrs. Carrign's talk with Heather lasted for quite some time. All she told her for twenty-six minutes straight was how she needed to act better in class and save tomfoolery for another time. It was the same thing she told her before and each time it seemed to go on longer than anticipated. Today's talk lasted the entire lunch period. By the time they were finished, the students were already coming back to class, their stomachs full and attitudes livelier than before. And there she was, with her stomach empty and the aroma of different delicious meals plaguing her senses. And the worst part of it was that Mrs. Carrign practically ate her lunch while lecturing to Heather, not daring to miss her opportunity at a hearty meal.

Heather never seemed to get any justice in her school. Both the teachers and students were ridiculously rude in their actions, and she never seemed to get a break from either one. But what else could she expect from living in the rowdiest neighborhood in Metropolis? That was why she promised herself that when she grew up, she would live in the brightest part of the city—the part where no one judged a person from skin color or creativity.

* * *

After school ended that afternoon at three o'clock, Heather waited near the front steps of the elementary school a few blocks away for her second-grader brother to walk out, so the both of them could walk back home together. As all of the children piled out of the building, some boarding in buses and others gathering their bikes to ride home, she realized that none of them was Sean. She also noticed that fifth-grader Brutus "The Brute" Nichols, a six-foot heavyweight with a bad attitude and probably held back a few grades—he looked to be the same age as Heather, hadn't come out either.

Brutus had been on Heather's case, since her little brother first arrived at his school. If there was one person whose racism over passed others, it was his. There was not a single thing that Brutus liked about Heather, and Sean was often the subject of his bullying because of her being his big sister. But he would often do things to her as well after school for the sheer purpose of embarrassing her in front of Sean and the other kids, from having ice-cold _Jell-O_ from lunch stuck down her pants to having spitballs shot into her hair.

Most times after school, Brutus would take his "prey" out to the foul-smelling alleyway cluttered with old baby toys and month-old garbage and beat the crud out of them, tossing them into the garbage afterwards. It had happened to Heather on numerous occasions—one time she had to come home, smelling like dirty diapers and rotten cabbage, and took five showers in a row with the clothes she wore that day thrown away. The odor still plagued her mind, every time she would cross that alleyway.

She knew there had to be a strong chance that Sean was there with Brutus, possibly in the process of being bullied by the older, stronger, and bigger kid. So, with much haste, she ran around the left corner of the building and went into the stretchy alley to find her brother. A great deal of courage was mustered to go into such a dark, foul, nerve-wracking atmosphere. All that really mattered to her was the safety of her own brother.

Her fears were confirmed the moment she spotted him, pinned against the wall and towered over by Brutus, who had him by the collar and shoving his huge, ugly face into Sean's. She saw how scared her brother looked, as the tears fell from his eyes and drenched his face. Seeing her brother in such danger brought a sense of fury over Heather that surpassed practically everything else that angered her over the day. When it was her being pestered, she didn't mind all that much—she learned to just ignore things and control her temper to set a good example for Sean. But when her own family was involved, that was where she drew the line.

Brutus had been screaming at Sean about her, ordering him to keep her away from the school and adding through gritted teeth, "If she knows what's good for her."

It was that moment when she made her presence known. "You leave my little brother alone, Brutus!" His attention instantly went to her, the moment that he heard the first word come out her mouth. He let go of Sean and started to advance on her threateningly.

"You should stay home, Kelley!" Brutus yelled back at her.

She clenched her fists as he came closer, braced for any onslaught that he would unleash upon her. One inhuman trait about Brutus was how he didn't rule out girls on his list of people to pound into pudding. Heather never had the misfortune of having his fist against her face in extreme fashion; but it would seem that afternoon would be just the day for it.

The first punch almost came like a blur. She felt it connect to the left side of her mouth before she even saw it coming. Instantly she went down, spitting out a pint of blood. She heard her little brother call out to her, his voice breaking while sounding much panicked. Attempting to get back up, she found herself down again, when Brutus gave a fierce kick to the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Outside the alleyway, a few kids passing by had taken immediate notice of the brawl happening and urged a few more to join in watching. They gathered near the two combatants, each and every one of them cheering on Brutus. It didn't surprise Heather at all, considering how they practically despised her, despite the fact that Brutus had bullied them all on a daily basis. Then again, they might've just been trying to avoid getting another pounding.

Within seconds, Heather was bloodied and bruised on the ground, as Brutus continued kicking her while she was down. She looked over at Sean, who was grabbing at Brutus's arm in a feeble but brave attempt to stop the beating. At first Brutus paid no mind to the kid's physical protest. But when Sean performed one of the moves he had learned from his weekend karate classes, kicking Brutus right in the side—a move effective enough to stop him from kicking Heather any further, a furious Brutus turned away from his opponent and focused on his attacker.

"You little punk!" He angrily yelled.

"The Brute" took his large right hand and grabbed Sean's whole face, shoving him into the wall of the school. Sean hit it hard enough to cause him great pain. More tears streamed from his eyes as he screamed in agony, clutching his right arm. Brutus laughed while standing over him and hurling more emotionally-scarring insults at him.

Watching what he did to her little brother, Heather grew angrier than before. Her fingers ran through the dirt, getting handfuls of it. Once Brutus came near her again, she hurled the dirt into his eyes. With "The Brute" blinded, Heather fought back at him, throwing several fast and furious punches at his face. Brutus's head swung left and right at every punch, saliva flying in all directions. He soon was spitting out blood after the seventh punch, with his face becoming heavily swollen and some of his teeth knocked out.

The children watching nearby were stunned at the display of the mighty Brutus viciously being attacked by the small, supposedly weak Heather. Their cheers were silenced. Never before had they seen him beaten so brutally. It had some of them wondering what kind of a girl Heather was. They knew she was a freak; but not an _actual_ one.

Heather immediately stopped hitting Brutus, once she noticed him staggering on his feet. She stood back and watched him as he lingered towards the garbage piled at the end of the alley. Brutus fell face-first into the garbage and laid there in an unconscious state. Bleeding and breathing heavily, she quickly went to her fallen brother, who stopped crying the moment he watched Brutus beaten by the hands of his sister.

"C'mon, Sean." She said while helping him to his feet. "It's okay now."

With her arm wrapped around him, she led him out of the alley, passing by the shocked children who parted as they came by. Normally when a kid stood up to a bully, there was a roaring applause in response. But Heather was no hero in the eyes of these children. And she didn't even care. All that really mattered to her was how she could pound Brutus the way she did, while not even capable of the supreme strength to do it.

* * *

As soon as the siblings returned home late that afternoon, Heather went to the bathroom and washed the blood off her face and hands. She cleaned some of the wounds, and then afterwards she cleaned the one her brother sustained on his arm. He had a small gash there, not enough to worry their mother if she ever happened to notice it.

The apartment they lived in was kept to the neatest perfection, with the living room and kitchen adjacent to each other and a hallway leading to two bedrooms—one of which was shared by Sean and Heather—and the bathroom. The furniture they had was antique and mostly made of wood. A dark blue couch suited for three people was situated in the center of the living room, right in front of the television set, which sat atop of a three-foot drawer.

Heather and Sean sat on the couch, while she was cleaning the wounds on his arm. Sean could not stop looking so excitedly at his big sister, after the wonderful way she stood up for him. "Thank you for rescuing me, Heather."

She smiled at him, taking such a delight in hearing that sweet little voice of his. "No prob, baby bro." Her smile then faded slightly when she added, "But you've got to promise me that you _never_ tell Mama what I did."

"Why not?"

"Because she'll kick _my_ butt, if she found out how I kicked Brutus's."

"But it was so cool, Heather."

"No, it wasn't, Sean!" She snapped in frustration. Immediately she calmed herself, not wanting him to get any more shaken than he already was. "Look, I don't know how I was able to beat Brutus the way I did. And until I do, you have to swear to me that you never tell anybody. Not Mama, not anybody at school…nobody. Okay?" Sean hesitated in nodding for a moment, unsure of how liable he would be in keeping this promise for Heather. But when he finally did, she smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "You've always been such a good little brother."

"I know." Sean remarked with a giggle that made Heather's smile grow. He then looked over to the television set that was on in front of them, seeing an image of Mr. Incredible standing at a podium, with several men in black suits and ties standing behind him. Right away he alerted his sister of it, pointing to the set with his uninjured arm and saying, "Look, Heather!"

Heather looked away from her brother's arm, just as she finished putting a small bandage on his wound, and she had seen Mr. Incredible on the television screen, looking very displeased. She got up from the couch and grabbed the remote control sitting on top of the set, using it to turn up its volume.

"Mr. Incredible expressed extreme heartache today, as he had officially announced retirement from the superhero business," stated the newswoman who voiced over the looped footage of Mr. Incredible waving goodbye to the crowd as he walked away from the podium. "After last week's battle with a villain known as 'The Underminer' that led to heavy property damage, the Mayor had declared the famed superhero and his associates at the time of the battle, Elastigirl and Frozone, to hang up their tights or face charges from the property owners. With crime dropping down to eighty-seven percent, most see this as a way of leaving the work to the _real_ professionals—the men and women of the Metropolis police force."

The image of a 20-year-old female police officer with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and lips as red as a rose appeared on the screen, wearing a nametag on her uniform that said "D. Navarro." "I'm awfully sorry to hear these great heroes who have protected our city for nearly eleven years now will be living amongst us as regular people from now on. But they have worked very hard and could use the rest and relaxation. It's about time for Metropolis's police force to take over and…"

Before Officer Navarro could have finished her statement, Heather pressed the "Mute" button on the remote, silencing her. She felt very disgruntled by this news, having looked up to heroes like Mr. Incredible since she was three years old. And with the best ones in the city retired, it seemed as if there would no longer be anyone left to idolize or be inspired by.

"Hey, Heather," Sean said. "What does 'retirement' mean?"

Heather sighed in despair. "It means Mr. Incredible won't be saving anybody…not anymore." She then switched off the television set, with the last image being on there of Mr. Incredible sadly waving goodbye again.


	3. Chapter 3

**III**

Three months had passed since the declaration of Mr. Incredible, Frozone, and Elastigirl—three of the greatest heroes in Metropolis—retiring from their duties for the city. Since then, things had been as quiet as a mouse around the area. No bank robberies, no muggings, no global disasters, and not even any cats stuck up in trees. Everyone was moving along at their own pace, treating the days with a sense of peace and serenity.

However, one particular afternoon in December—the snowiest time of the year for Metropolis, something extraordinary happened…at least for the Kelley siblings. After school ended that day, Sean and Heather met with each other outside, bundled up in warm winter clothes. Heather seemed extra excited that afternoon, not only because it was Friday, but also due to something she had discovered last weekend.

Just as they came near the bottom of the staircase at the front of the school, Heather turned to her little brother and said, "As soon as we get back home, follow me up to the rooftop. I've something _real_ cool to show ya."

"Okay, Heather." He agreed without even asking first what it was, because all he really wanted to do was spend time with her. Without many friends at school, Sean and Heather only had each other, and that was okay with them.

Of course, there was also the fact that he wanted to leave things as a surprise when they came.

* * *

The moment the two arrived at their apartment, they dropped off their backpacks and lunchboxes in their bedroom and then climbed up the stairwell leading to the rooftop. The atmosphere up there was more than just cold; it was well below freezing level. Snow covered practically every inch of the area, including a huge antenna protruding at the center of the rooftop.

Heather barely paid much mind to the freezing temperature, though her brother hopped up and down a lot to keep him warm. She soon took notice of his discomfort and smiled while telling him, "Don't worry, baby brother. It's gonna get a lot hotter in a sec."

She focused her glance on the base of the antenna, which had a great deal of snow and ice covering it. With squinted eyes, she looked closely at the ice, as if studying its structure and density. And then, out of nowhere, her bright blue eyes suddenly turned a dark shade of red, at the exact same time the ice on the antenna began to melt. Nearby, Sean watched this sudden phenomenon with much awe and wonder. It was just like the animated shows he watched on Saturday morning, only more realistic.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed. "How're you doing that, Heather?"

Unfortunately, Heather was barely paying much attention to him, considering how she was so thrilled over this new anatomical ability of hers. She had no idea where it had come from, whether or not it was a form of puberty, or if anyone else had something like it. All that she really knew was how much fun it was melting things with her eyes.

However, what she didn't know at the time was how the heat was starting to melt away the metal on the antenna. It began to waver, leaning towards the siblings at one point and towards the rooftop's edge the next. As soon as she realized this, Heather immediately stopped whatever it was she was doing and pulled herself and Sean back into the stairwell, in fear of the wavering antenna collapsing on them.

The antenna suddenly snapped, after wavering for twenty seconds, and fell over the edge of the rooftop. Down below, in an alley, there was a parked red Corvette. Its owner, a young thirty-something black male, was in the process of unlocking it to take it for a drive around the city. Then, much to his shock, the antenna from the apartment complex he lived in had crashed right through the roof of his car, causing its horn functions to malfunction and emitted a long, never-ending honk blaring through the air.

The owner, thankful that he had not been killed by the accident, couldn't help but to wonder what exactly caused the antenna to fall.

* * *

Inside the stairwell, Heather and Sean were running down to the twenty-second floor—where their apartment was located. They heard the loud crash from outside and panicked, hoping that nothing was damaged from the falling antenna. Once they finally reached the twenty-second floor, they dashed down the hall, passing by several doors that had opened in response to the loud noise coming from outside.

"This something else we're not gonna tell Mama?" Sean asked, running out of breath.

Heather couldn't believe he even asked such a question, considering all of the panic that surrounded them. Instead of answering him, she just pretended that she never heard what he said and focused on getting inside their apartment, before their mother got home early from work, as she said she would.

As soon as they got to the door, Heather pulled out the key to unlock it with and was just about to insert it, until it suddenly opened by itself. She swallowed very hard, as she and her brother watched their mother, 41-year-old Alicia Kelley, open the door. The look on her face registered both confusion over what all of the commotion was about and anger from seeing her two children out of the apartment and in the middle of it all.

"Please tell me you hardheads are just coming back from school." She said, before she realized how neither one of them were carrying backpacks, books, or lunchboxes. With a deep sigh, she regretfully told them, "Get inside."

The two children slowly walked in, with their heads hung low and looking only at the floor, not bothering to see the cold, stern look their mother was giving them. Somehow she knew they were responsible for the loud crash she heard from outside. Of course, the fact they still had their winter clothes on and snow was still covered all over them was pretty much a dead giveaway.

Just as soon after Alicia slammed the door, Heather immediately pleaded her case. "Mama, we didn't do anything! We were just throwing snowballs on the roof and then the antenna fell out of nowhere! We didn't do a thing!"

Alicia had been around her daughter long enough to know when she was lying and when she wasn't. From the panic in her voice and the fear in her eyes, she knew this had to have been a time when she was lying her head off. She turned to her son and said, "Sean, go to your room and work on your homework. Your sister and I have some things we need to discuss."

Sean looked to his sister in worry, fearing that she would be severely punished for the special superpower she displayed on the rooftop. But Heather just smiled, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, and said, "I'll be okay, baby bro." She winked at him, adding some more assurance. Sean smiled back at her, pleased to see that she wasn't all that scared of what their mother might do, and then he headed off to their bedroom.

With Sean away, Alicia and Heather went over to the couch in the living room and sat down to begin their talk. Considering all that had happened in the past few minutes and the exhaustion overwhelming her, Heather was delighted in knowing that this talk would be done sitting down rather than standing up.

She expected her mother to start talking with that same loud, threatening voice she usually had when they weren't doing their chores or going to bed on time. Being the widowed mother of two children took its toll on her sometimes, which Heather completely understood. It had only been three years since her father died of cancer, and since then she had tried her best to fulfill her promise in keeping the family together at all times.

Her mother began the conversation with a calm, serene voice instead, asking one simple question: "What _really_ happened up there, Heather?"

She hesitated with an answer, feeling uncertain that her mother would really believe her if she said that the antenna fell because of a bizarre "heat vision" power she recently discovered. So she decided to go with something different. "When Sean and I were playing," she began, "one of the snowballs hit the antenna and made it fall." Her mother just looked at her, still not believing a word. "You know how old this building is getting, Mama. Anything could just…"

"The truth, Heather." Alicia sternly declared.

Realizing there was no other alternative but telling her what she could only believe herself was the truth, Heather nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, Mama. This is what happened…"

She started from a point that was a lot earlier than last weekend, going back to when she and Brutus fought near the school, three months ago. That part of her explanation concerned Alicia, since it involved her youngest child being tormented by an older, bigger kid—whom thankfully was dealt with by Heather. But the real surprise was when Heather told her about the one evening on Halloween, when she fell into a ditch while trick-or-treating and began levitating at six feet above the ground for nearly a minute. She admitted that she thought it was the wind carrying her at first; but the amount of time she spent airborne was a little too long for such a case.

After Heather revealed the recent case of the "heat vision," Alicia began to wonder to herself if the past had come back to haunt her. She never told her daughter of the mystery surrounding her birth, eleven years ago, because she feared the shock would take away all that she worked hard to maintain—having a family and living a normal life. But with Heather experiencing these unusual events, it would've been difficult to maintain it much longer.

"I know that you don't believe what I'm saying, Mama." Heather said. "But you've got to believe me when I tell you that it's all the God-honest truth."

Alicia remained silent for a brief period of time, staring off into space and seeming lost in thought. A concerned Heather stared at her, wondering if her bizarre story might've perplexed or frustrated her mother to the point that she could barely think up a reasonable way to punish her. Unbeknownst to her, however, Alicia was thinking the complete opposite.

It was her turn to be the one to reveal the truth and wonder if her daughter would believe any of it. She gambled with the idea for some time. When she finally came to the conclusion that it was either the truth or more lies (and she often lectured to her children that lying was the work of the devil), she decided to come clean with her.

"Heather…remember when you asked me one time why you don't look like everyone else in the neighborhood and I told you that it's because you're part of a special family?" She nodded in reply, despite the confusion she suffered from the irrelevant question. "Well, sweetheart…the real special one in the family is _you_."

Heather's eyes squinted in reaction to her mother's statement. "Me? Wh…Why am I the only special one?"

"Because you were born out of a situation like no other one that a living being can admit to." Alicia stated, before taking a deep breath. "Eleven years ago, I volunteered for an experiment in genetics. I had no idea what I'd be subject to or why I was doing it. All I knew was that I'd be given a child…a child that would be a hope for a stronger, powerful generation." As she spoke, she went to the dinner table in the kitchen, where her purse was sitting. She picked it up and reached inside, pulling out an old photograph of a stern-looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a ceremonial military uniform.

She handed the photo over to Heather, who stared at it in puzzlement. "Who is this man, Mama?"

"His name is Sergeant Henry Kelley…he's your father."

Heather looked up at her with a stunned expression registered on her face. After a few seconds, she started to chuckle, thinking that her mother was playing a joke on her. "Mama, this man isn't my daddy. Daddy looked just like you and Sean. He couldn't possibly be…" She stopped and stared at the photo more closely, seeing the man's face and discovering how oddly its features were similar to hers. Everything from his bright blue eyes to his golden vanilla-colored hair reminded her of what she saw in the mirror every day of her life.

It began to dawn upon the 11-year-old girl that the man in the photo was in fact her own biological father. That could only mean that the man she gave her promise to on his deathbed was a total stranger—a thought that brought tears to her eyes. She almost felt betrayed, having believed that all she had been through in the years of her existence was falsified for no reason at all. At least, that's what she believed until her mother continued her explanation.

"Your father's job in the experiment was to help me conceive you, having his DNA, my own, and that from a third source put into me to create you." She reached inside of her purse again and pulled out a brochure that had all of the information on the Hamilton Research Center printed into it. "This was where you were born. It's a place on the outskirts of Washington, D.C."

Heather never bothered looking through the brochure, as her focus was still mostly on the photograph of Henry Kelley. She swallowed hard, wiping the tears from her eyes, and asked her mother, "Where's my real daddy now?"

Alicia sadly shook her head. "He died while giving his duties to the Center's experiment." She refused to tell her the cause of his death, having already given her the shock of her life by revealing the truth behind her birth. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. You had to know, because too much was already happening."

"But _why_ is it all happening, Mama?"

"I don't know, darlin'." Alicia said with a shrug. "To be honest, I was just glad they let me keep you. Because you've been the most wonderful blessing to ever come into my life."

Heather felt very angry inside. So much she had wished to know why she was so different from everyone else. And with part of the truth finally revealed to her, she wished that she hadn't, because it made her feel a little uncomfortable to even be alive. Since the incident with Brutus, she had been looked upon as a freak of nature from the other kids at school. How horrifying it was for her to know that they were right all along.

"You're wrong, Mama. I'm no blessing…I'm a curse."

Alicia attempted to contradict this statement of hers with more comforting words of wisdom. However, Heather suddenly dashed out of the living room and into her bedroom, before she even had a chance. She heard the door slam and her daughter crying from within the room. Rather than go in there and trying to comfort her some more, Alicia decided to leave her be. Heather needed some time by herself…enough time to take in what she had learned about herself that afternoon and accept it. Because whether she liked it or not, it was who she was and what she would be for the rest of her life. The only question was: what exactly was it that she had become?


	4. Chapter 4

**IV**

Five Years Later

It was just an average, sunny, breezy afternoon in Smallville, Kansas. Although the bright, hot sun in the sky and the fresh, cool breeze moving through every living thing—from the vast cornfields to the cows on the pasture—didn't matter all that much for Chip and Dale, two lively, troublemaking chipmunks that habituated within an oak tree standing on the front yard of a small farmhouse. All that really mattered to the two chipmunks were collecting enough nuts to get them through the rest of the summer.

While Chip was collecting mostly three nuts at a time, Dale had challenged him to carry more by carrying more nuts than his tiny arms could've allowed him. The only problem with Dale's "challenge" was that he needed to maintain a slow, steady pace along the branch he walked upon, in order to avoid dropping any of the nuts. And while Dale was still carrying the same ten nuts that he started out with, Chip had already gotten twenty-six of them in their home.

After getting in the last couple of nuts he could find in the tree, Chip looked back at Dale and watched him continue to move slower than a snail on the branch. "Of all the fine times to show off," he said with the shake of a head and the look of disgust registered on his face.

Then, suddenly, the tree shook violently. All of the nuts Dale had been carrying fell from his arms and dropped far down below. Both he and Chip fell flat on their backs, looking to one another in shock and utter disbelief. "What the heck was that?" Dale asked.

"I don't know." Chip remarked.

There was another quake, this time nearly knocking the two chipmunks from the tree. Luckily, they braced onto the branch to keep themselves from falling off, while they heard other branches snap and leaves brushing up against something that seemed to be way bigger than either of them, as it fell through the tree. A large _thud_ came after the object that fell through the tree had landed. Chip and Dale looked over the branch and pass whatever leaves were left on the tree to see a 21-year-old blonde, blue-eyed girl lying on the ground, wearing a red, long-sleeved, plaid shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers.

"You really nuked that landing, sis," came a voice that belonged to someone out of view of the chipmunks.

The blonde young woman looked pretty upset, as she got to her feet. "Really? Was it that obvious when my butt hit the ground first?" She made the sarcasm pretty obvious in her voice, as she addressed her companion.

"Sorry. I was just making sure you were okay."

The girl sighed and half-heartedly smiled. "I know, baby brother. But could you please just not be so vocal in your observations?"

An 11-year-old boy then walked up to her, wearing an orange t-shirt, beige pants, and white tennis shoes and carrying a stopwatch. "You've got it," he said in response to the girl's demand. "So what're you going to try out next?"

The blonde girl looked towards the sky in despair. "Well, until I can avoid fallin' on my butt again, flyin' is outta the question." She then looked around, seeming to be getting an idea for something. Once she finally found her subject of inspiration, she smiled and said, "How 'bout this?"

And then, the most surprising thing occurred before the very eyes of Chip and Dale. The blonde girl suddenly transfigured into a red and blue blur, leaving behind a huge dirt cloud that made her brother cough for a few seconds. This bizarre action left Chip and Dale in total shock. They'd seen their share of humans in the years they both had lived in the oak tree; but never had they seen one that could've done what that blonde girl did.

They climbed to the topmost portion of the tree to see where she was heading. With their small heads peeking out through the leaves, they looked over the magnificent view of the farmland, seeing the vast acres of corn directly ahead. Brushing past the corn faster than the wind itself was the unnaturally speedy blonde girl. They couldn't see her past the tall stacks of corn, even though there was no doubt she was there, from the brief gaps she put amongst them.

"Have ya ever seen anything like that before?" Dale inquired.

"Never in my whole life." Chip responded.

* * *

Time seemed to have suddenly stopped at the moment Heather Kelley entered her own personal hyper-speed. She felt her own legs moving really fast, but not fast enough to match the speed she was going. It was almost an ambiguous sensation that no one else in the world could possibly comprehend but her. Five years ago, this unnatural ability of hers would've freaked her out. But, at the moment, it made her feel like a goddess. If only those jerks at her college back in Metropolis could've seen what she was capable of doing.

But she made a promise to her mother—the night after she found out about her biological father—that she would never show off her "superpowers" to the rest of the world. It was a promise that she had no problem in keeping, considering how she never got along with any of the kids at school or in their neighborhood. But the real problem was controlling them at certain, unnecessary times. She could recall one day in which she sneezed and accidentally froze her chicken dinner, much to the dismay of her mother.

It was why she brought her and Sean to Smallville, the home she had before moving to Metropolis, after giving birth to Heather. The 21-year-old blonde needed an open area to practice using her abilities. Over the past five summers, it seemed to be all she would ever do down there in the south. The first summer she spent, she would practice on what she called her "heat vision" (the one ability that caused the accident on the rooftop of their apartment building). She would be given five buckets of water and practice turning the heat vision on and off at her chosen time.

The next summer, after she discovered her ability to blow at a high force, she practiced on freezing the buckets of water and blowing hay left all over the yard back into the barn. And then, on the third summer, she practiced using her then-new speeding ability by running through the cornfields, just as she was at the moment. It was by far her favorite of all her abilities, because she felt as if she could be anywhere in the world at any time.

However, when the summer of last year came, Heather came across her most difficult ability yet: the power of flight. She discovered it the afternoon she played a game of baseball with Sean. He was at the bat, while she was pitching. And after he hit a home run, Heather was forced to run and catch the ball. Unfortunately, the ball went a lot further than either Heather or Sean anticipated. It came close to landing past the wooden fence where Old Man Jenkins's prized wild bull was kept. But, lucky for the super-powered Heather, she jumped twenty feet into the air and caught the ball, before it could land anywhere near Jenkins's bull. Although it was more leaping than flying, she hovered in the air long enough to be able to consider it such.

And since then, controlling this flight ability of hers had been the most challenging task ever for her. She couldn't stay in the air any more than two minutes without falling back to the ground. But who cared about flying? She had so many other amazing things at her disposal, such as running faster than a jackrabbit being chased by a fox.

She wanted to run as far as north, moving past all the city states and heading straight to the North Pole. It confused her wondering why she ever wanted to be there of all places in the world. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't really believe in Santa Claus; so she could rule him out as a possibility. No, it was something else. Something completely _alien_ to her.

Unfortunately, she would've wanted to worry her mother and little brother. So, right before she got near the end of the cornfield, she skidded to a halt and arched her path right back into the direction of home. While on her way back home, Heather noticed something leap out from out of the cornfield. Despite the fact that everything around her was supposed to be moving at a slow pace, this particular object was moving just as fast as she was.

"What the hell…?" she muttered, before coming to an immediate halt.

She watched the object jump out again, soaring across the air at thirty-five feet and getting more airtime than she hoped for while practicing her flight. At first she thought it was a bird or maybe a plane; but it was too small to be a plane and yet too large to be a bird at the same time. It was only then, after getting a closer glance at the object, did she realized that it was a young man, not much older than Heather.

But it wasn't just _any_ young man; it turned out to be Clark Kent, the son of Martha and Jonathan, whom Heather had the pleasure in meeting last summer. Of course, at the time of the meeting, Clark wasn't leaping over three acres of corn at a single bound. And neither was he doing what Heather noticed him doing after one huge, powerful leap:

Clark started to fly, higher than Heather had ever attempted. He reached the clouds high above and was practically petting the birds. Heather couldn't believe he was doing any of this, as she had figured that the only one capable of doing it all was her. And yet it didn't displease her one bit. It was finally a sign that she wasn't truly alone in the world. There was someone else who could relate to her mixed feelings of invincibility and vulnerability.

For ten minutes, she watched Clark soar under the beaming sun, like a wingless angel. She barely took notice of the wind blowing through her long, golden blonde hair or the sound of crows squawking in the distance. Everything around her was muted, as her only focus was on Clark. At least, that was until she heard the clear sound of her mother calling out to her, just as if she were standing right next to her.

"Heather!"

She turned her head, seeing her mother nowhere near her. The farmhouse was still miles and miles away from her. Not a single soul stood with her at the center of the cornfield. For a moment, she wondered if she was expecting the same supernatural occurrence that Kevin Costner had in _Field of Dreams_. But she soon came back down to earth once it dawned on her that this was no more than another ability manifesting within her.

"Super hearing" was what she decided to call it there and then.

* * *

"Heather!" The 46-year-old Alicia called again, staring directly at the cornfield ahead and knowing how her daughter could only be there. She suddenly began to get angry, noticing the sun starting to come down towards the horizon, nightfall only a couple of hours away. "Where is that girl?"

Sean, standing next to his mother, gazed upon his stopwatch and realized that his sister had been gone for nearly eighteen minutes. "Wherever she is, she's definitely not breaking her old record."

"I'll break her butt, if she doesn't get back her so…"

There was a powerful gust of wind that blew past them both, cutting Alicia off before the completion of her sentence. A huge dirt cloud engulfed them and they momentarily coughed, before seeing the figure of Heather right before their watery eyes. She stood with a massive wave of confidence overwhelming her, with both hands on her hips and a huge smile on her face.

"Heard ya callin' for me, Mama." She gleefully said.

"You did?" Sean remarked, sounding very surprised. "You had to be miles away from home. How were you able to hear Mama?"

Heather began to pick at her right ear. "I've picked up some sorta 'super hearing' just a little while ago. Pretty sweet, but pretty painful at the same time."

"Wow," said Sean, who smiled brightly from the idea. "Now we've got a whole new power to practice on for the rest of the summer."

"Maybe I can try finding hummingbirds roaming around the next county or something." Heather joked, and the two siblings chuckled with glee.

Their mother, only seconds ago feeling angered by her daughter's careless concept of time and responsibility, was willing to forgive her daughter, seeing that she's back home in one piece. But she grew tired of worrying over her safety, especially with her having mastered half of her unnatural abilities. The world wasn't ready to accept another super-powered being, especially with so many of them scarce at the time. Ever since Mr. Incredible's so-called "retirement," not one superhero had dared to come into action and carry over the mantle.

However, there had been just one in recent years—a bizarre hero (if people chose to call him that) named "Darkwing Duck." He recently attempted to foil a bank robbery plotted by the infamous Beagle Boys of Duckburg on Scrooge McDuck's second money bin, which was eighteen feet taller than the one he kept in Duckburg. Darkwing's attempt at stopping the Beagle Boys led to no avail and the extreme embarrassment of one Officer Navarro, whom at the time was just promoted to the rank of detective. Not only did she lose part of her dignity that night of the big heist, she also lost her job on the Metropolis police force—having been transferred to the one in Gotham City, as well as her right eye (courtesy of Darkwing Duck's gas gun).

It was only last year when the incident occurred and covered by _The Daily Planet's_ lead reporter and Alicia's best friend, Louise Rogers. The story earned the then 27-year-old Louise a spot on _The Planet's_ "Hall of Fame" and the respect of the Editor-in-Chief, Perry White. It was also the same year that the newspaper gained a fresh, young reporter named Lois Lane, whom was given the distinct pleasure of being Louise's personal pupil.

Alicia had worked on _The Daily Planet_ staff for a lot longer than Louise, and she never once had gotten the great deal of respect that young Louise did. But it wasn't any bother to her, since it could've gone to a brighter, carefree, young woman. Although if she had, the story she would've given Mr. White would surely be the "immortal" being that was her daughter, Heather. And Alicia would never forgive herself if she had given up the most important secret in her family's life to the public like that. The only award that mattered to her was keeping a happy, healthy family like theirs together.

"Alright, alright, you hardheads." Alicia told her children. "Time to get inside and have dinner. I'd made our favorite: chicken sandwiches."

"Awesome!" Sean exclaimed, as they all began to walk back inside their old home.

* * *

The way their mother made chicken sandwiches was unlike any other made in the south. It was made in the same fashion of the "po' boy" sandwiches of Louisiana—a submarine sandwich layered with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and breaded chicken. Her sandwiches were so well-made and downright tasty that they wished she made them more often than on just Sunday nights.

They couldn't have eaten in a more comfortable kitchen like the one at the farmhouse. A small, round, wooden table sat in the center of the white-tiled room, which was complete with a 1950s style refrigerator, a centuries-old sink, and a window that always seemed to be left open with yellow, transparent curtains draped over it. An old fan circled slowly over them as they ate, offering what little breeze it could, combined with that from the night air blowing in from the window.

After a few small bites from her sandwich and a couple of sips from the lemonade in her glass—that was without any ice floating inside and extremely warm, before Heather chilled it with her breath, the young blonde stopped for a moment to think about what she witnessed that afternoon in the cornfield. The image of Clark Kent soaring higher than a kite never left her mind since she saw it. And as much as she waited to come out and ask her mother if she ever knew about the son of Jonathan and Martha Kent having unnatural abilities similar to her own, the thought of it cautioned her, especially right before she opened her mouth about it.

"Mama, had Mr. and Mrs. Kent ever mentioned much about Clark Kent to you?" She asked.

Alicia remained silent for quite some time before she forced an answer to come out. "Only good things, sweetie…like…bein' the all-star player on Smallville's high school football team or makin' all A's in every class he's had in school or…"

"Being special like me?" Heather interjected, causing her mother and brother to stare at her for a long, awkward time. Before either of them could even ask her what she was talking about, she answered for them, knowing just the question they were pondering. "I saw him flyin'…just like I've been tryin' to, since last summer."

Sean swallowed the piece of sandwich in his mouth very hard, the excitement from his sister's claim building up deep inside him. "Clark Kent's got superpowers, too?"

Alicia shook her head. "Sweetie, are you sure that you saw what you saw? I mean, it could've been one of the crows or…"

"It was Clark, Mama…I saw him." She looked down at her sandwich, suddenly not feeling as hungry as she was a few moment ago. "I think he might've come from that research place…the one you told me about a long time ago?"

Again, Alicia shook her head negatively. "No, he wasn't, darlin'. I would've remembered seein' his parents there, if he did."

"But even you said that you couldn't remember all of what they did in the…"

"I thought we agreed never to talk about that!" Alicia retorted with a tone in her voice that immediately silenced her daughter. "Dammit, Heather! We're supposed to be on vacation here! We're supposed to be havin' fun!"

"What fun, Mama? All I've been ever doin' here is workin' my tail off tryin' to control these stupid powers of mine! I never have time to play with Sean, never have time to meet the other kids in town, and never have time to have a normal freakin' life!"

In great frustration, she slammed her hands down on the table and unintentionally made it collapse, throwing their food, plates, silverware, and glasses all over the air. The food and silverware were scattered in a huge mess all over the broken table, while the plates and glasses sat in pieces on the tiled floor that was flooded with lemonade in less than a second.

Alicia, Heather, and Sean all looked at the messy scene before them in shock and anger. Heather was almost embarrassed to look at her, who she knew couldn't have been all that pleased with what she had just done. She and her brother expected her to break out into one enormous tirade. However, the only reaction Alicia had to the incident was one hysterical laughing fit. She put her head into her hands to hide the goofy expression her face had registered from the laughter.

After sharing a few awkward, clueless glances, Heather and Sean broke out into laughter themselves, despite the fact that they had no idea why they were doing so. In curiosity, Sean asked his mother, "This is pretty silly, ain't it, Mama?"

Between chuckles, Alicia was able to reply, "Not as silly as watching you two hardheads clean this mess up."

That was the moment when the siblings' laughter subsided, leaving their mother the only one still going on. They looked to each other—Heather giving Sean an apologetic look, while Sean was practically giving her the evil eye.

* * *

It had taken the two siblings up past midnight to clean up the mess that Heather was responsible for. By the time they had finished, it was close to four o'clock in the morning. And even at that hour in the evening, after all the hard work she had to endure, Heather's mind was still racing with excitement over the events of the previous day. She spent the rest of the morning sitting on the section of the roof outside her bedroom, watching the cornfield near their home and thinking about Clark Kent.

In her moment of being lost in thought, she almost didn't see Clark himself, standing right in the middle of the cornfield and looking in the direction of their farmhouse. It suddenly dawned on her that Clark wasn't staring at any random part of their house; he was actually looking directly at Heather. Realizing this and not wanting to be a rude neighbor, she waved at him. And much to her delight, he waved back, right before his form levitated out of the cornfield and hovered several feet into the air.

Heather stared in awe, as Clark Kent flew gracefully into the morning sky and right towards the sun rising up from the horizon. It was an incredible sight to start the day with and enough encouragement to help Heather realize that not having such a normal life wasn't as bad as she believed. She welcomed whatever the future had brought for her and her family and hoped that Clark Kent would be involved in it in some way.


	5. Chapter 5

**V**

By the time mid-August had arrived, the Kelley family had already returned home to Metropolis, with grand memories of their summer in Smallville safely intact within their consciousness. It didn't take very long for them to readjust into their normal routines—Alicia going back to work at _The Daily Planet_, Heather starting her junior year in college, and Sean starting a new semester in high school.

On the first week back to Metropolis, Alicia was given a memo from Perry White, stating how Scrooge McDuck would be coming exclusively to _The Planet_ to unveil a new "masterpiece" that one of his personal developers had created for security measures. The event would be held in the office room on Saturday night, which was the same night that Alicia was supposed to be treating her kids to a dinner at _Domino's Pizza_.

Luckily, Louise was there to assure her of a possibility. "It's just Scrooge McDuck, hon. It ain't like he's got other things to do, like count dat money. This won't take no more than five minutes."

Alicia held on to these words until the evening came when Scrooge McDuck arrived via a helicopter that was piloted by his "trustworthy" employee, Launchpad McQuack. He was accompanied by his bumbling accountant, Fenton Crackshell—which some at _The Planet_ saw as a rather questionable thing, seeing that McDuck was only here to unveil a new design by Gyro Gearloose, who was also present with McDuck at the moment of arrival.

When McDuck and his companions arrived in the office room, hardly anyone noticed how Crackshell wasn't present at the time. All eyes were mostly on McDuck, who seemed more confident than usual of what he was about to show the press. Even his words oozed with optimism, as he addressed the staff amongst a series of cameras flashing before him.

"It certainly is a grand evening to be amongst the finest newspaper in Metropolis to reveal a new, wonderful creation of my inventive employee, Gyro Gearloose." These words were welcomed with applause from _The Planet_ staff, as Gyro stepped up closer next to McDuck, with Launchpad still standing close behind. "For ten months now, you all have heard rumors of a special 'security measure' that I've been working on, in response to the Beagle Boys' break-in at my money bin. With this new security enforcement of Gyro's, you can be assured that the richest duck from Duckburg will never have to fear of break-ins or Beagle Boys ever again. Ladies and gentlemen, McDuck Enterprises presents to you our latest achievement…"

While McDuck was giving his introduction, Gyro signaled to a couple of security guards standing near the entrance. They opened the set of double glass doors that led to the hallway outside, expecting something to be there waiting to come in. Unfortunately, nothing was there at all.

And McDuck failed no notice this, as soon as he concluded with his introduction. "Gizmoduck!" He had his eyes confidently closed while gesturing to the entrance, which all in the room glanced toward and frowned with confusion. Hearing the awkward silence that had suddenly fallen over the room, McDuck opened his eyes, showing the bewildered emotion in them, and looked to the door to see the sudden absence of his "latest achievement."

"Uh," Launchpad began with a nervous chuckle, "He ain't there, Mr. McD."

McDuck rolled his eyes and whispered in retort, "I know that, Launchpad!" He then turned his attention to Gyro, who carried with him a handheld control box, in the event that something like this would happen. "Gyro, where the heck is that metal-headed numbskull?"

Gyro turned some knobs and flipped some switches, as the small, radar-like screen on the control box depicted a small yellow dot on a green virtual schematic of the _Daily Planet_ building. "According to my readouts, he's on the roof."

"The roof?" McDuck exclaimed, trying his best not to be heard too much by the press, who were too busy murmuring amongst themselves to even notice McDuck's displeasure over the embarrassing blunder. "When I get my hands on that 'Tin Duck,' I'm gonna kick him all the way to Oz!"

From the back of the crowd, Louise and Alicia were watching McDuck as he walked away from Gyro and Launchpad, waving to the crowd with a phony smile as he left the office room through the same doors that "Gizmoduck" was supposed to walk through earlier. The two reporters felt very disappointed from the no-show, both of them crossing their arms and putting their hands on their hips in frustration.

"I should've counted on something like this," said Louise, as she reached over to her desk and picked up her black, white-striped track jacket, putting it on as she and Alicia headed out the office room. "C'mon, let's bust it outta here."

"For real," acknowledged Alicia. "I've got _way_ better things to do than wait for some imaginary superhero."

As the two reporters walked out into the hallway, they barely noticed Scrooge McDuck standing in one of the three elevators located there, just as the doors closed in front of him. From the LED display that depicted the number of floors that the elevator went through, it appeared that McDuck was heading up to the rooftop.

Realizing this, Louise raised an eyebrow. "What kind of superhero spends his time on the rooftop of a newspaper building?"

Alicia shrugged her shoulders in response to Louise's rhetorical question, right before the two ladies climbed into the elevator that had taken them down to the building's lobby area, where Heather and Sean were patiently waiting.

* * *

It had only been a week since Fenton Crackshell started wearing the Gizmoduck suit. For him, that wasn't barely enough time to remember how it's supposed to be put on. On the rooftop of _The Daily Planet_, he shrugged ferociously to get it on his feathery body, practically straining an arm just to get on a glove. He jumped all about in the cockpit of Scrooge McDuck's helicopter, which Launchpad had landed dangerously close to the edge of the roof, making it edge closer and closer with each jump.

During Fenton's struggle within the copter, the door to the rooftop opened and Scrooge McDuck stormed out, with a look of sheer fury stuck right onto his face. "CRACKSHELL!"

He heard McDuck's voice loud and clear from inside the helicopter. It made him jump once again in shock, causing him to trip over the pieces of the Gizmoduck suit as well. The clumsy Fenton fell back and smacked against the side of the cockpit that faced the rooftop's edge.

That last move was what caused the helicopter to suddenly teeter over the edge of the roof. If it were not for the set of cables that surrounded the rooftop, the helicopter would have surely fallen completely over. But, luckily, its landing skids got tangled within the cables and left it dangling sixty feet above the street.

McDuck, seeing the impending doom that was about to come to Fenton, had his anger replaced with horror from the startling sight. "Fenton! Hang on!"

Inside the cockpit, Fenton was clinging to one of the chairs, as he looked down and noticed the long drop through the window. In reaction to Scrooge's demand, he screamed in a mixture of sarcasm and fear, "Like I have any other choice!"

It didn't take very long for a large crowd of Metropolitans to gather near the front entrance of _The Daily Planet_, seeing the helicopter dangling dangerously over the edge of the rooftop. By the time Louise Rogers and the Kelley family were exiting the building, the crowd had practically blocked their way from the entrance to where Louise's car was parked. They had to desperately inch their way through the crowd, just to get to their destination. But when the crowd started to get closer and tighter together, it proved to be near impossible to pass any further.

"My god! What's so damn exciting that everybody's got to be like sardines in a can out here?" Louise exclaimed in frustration.

Heather noticed how all of the people were looking upward. When she had done so herself, she spotted the dangling helicopter high above, only moments from falling towards them. Quickly, she turned to the others and directed their attention to where everyone's focus had been. "Look up there!" Once they were gazing along with her and all of the rest, they were stunned to see the danger looming overhead.

Within seconds, the sound of blaring police sirens was heard from the crowd, and everyone parted on command from the squad cars passing through. Parked right in the midst of the crowd, the squad cars opened and several police officers piled out, ordering the people to move to the sidewalk in fear of them being in the way of the helicopter once it fell.

As they were ushered onto the sidewalk, Louise and the Kelley family were situated near an alleyway. Alicia noticed how they were and, after glancing back and forth between the dangling helicopter and her daughter, urged Louise and her children to follow her into the alley.

Once they were far enough away from anyone who could hear them, Alicia looked hopefully to her daughter. "Heather, you're gonna have to stop that helicopter from crashing."

A bewildered and startled expression registered on her face from this request of her mother's. "I have to do _what_?"

Even Louise was perplexed and shocked from what Alicia just said. "Ally, no offense. But this ain't the time for jokes."

Alicia had an idea of how insane she sounded in front of her, without properly explaining to her the reason for her sudden request. But with a chaotic situation at hand, there wasn't enough time to share the "special" history of her daughter with her. So she had chosen to simply ignore Louise's bantering and focus on getting her daughter to accept her request.

"Please do it, Heather. There's no one else who can get up there in time to stop that thing from falling."

Heather felt it in her heart to accept her mother's request. However, she was reminded by a promise she had been intently keeping over the years. "What about not showing off my powers in front of people?"

Louise's eyes widened in increasing suspicion and confusion. "Powers?"

"You won't have to worry about them, if you move as fast as you did through those cornfields in Smallville." Sean stated in support of their mother's request. "Think about it, Heather. This is what all that training has paid off for. You've now got the chance to be just as cool of a hero as Mr. Incredible."

Heather smiled over the thought that her brother put into her head. It had been quite some time since the city had witnessed the heroic acts of a super-powered being. And it seemed like a better time than any other to show some off during the current situation. With a heart of great confidence, she boldly said to her mother, "I'll do it."

Alicia warmly smiled at her daughter, with a few tears welling up in her eyes. She watched as Heather turned away from her and focused on the _Daily Planet_ building, looking up and down at it as if studying its structure. And then, without warning, she disappeared from the alleyway, leaving behind a massive gust of wind that blew newspapers and pieces of garbage all around Louise, Alicia, and Sean.

"What the…?" exclaimed a surprised Louise, whose blonde hair was blown right over her eyes, momentarily blinding her. Once she brushed it away to clear her view, she realized that Heather was nowhere in the alley. And just as she attempted to ask where she was, she noticed something—or someone—running along the side of the _Daily Planet_ building, moving towards the dangling helicopter. It then suddenly dawned on her what her friends had been chatting about. "Aw, dude! Is that…?"

"Uh-huh," confirmed Alicia and Sean, as they watched along with Louise and several others who spotted the incredibly fast human being scaling up the side of the building.

* * *

Just like the cornfields in Smallville, all seemed to be moving unusually slow around Heather, as she engaged herself into her "hyper-speed" mode. However, unlike the cornfields, she never before had broken the laws of physics in the way she did while running up the side of the building. It was impressive and frightening all at the same time, as she moved higher and higher, the ground below her fading in the distance while the helicopter was getting closer.

And then, the unimaginable happened…

The helicopter's landing skids snapped away from the cable, and Heather watched it slowly—and yet rapidly at the same time—fall towards her and the people down below. She knew there was no chance of catching it as she was running, because the speed she was moving in would be sure to smash the copter to pieces on impact.

So she quickly thought of the next best thing.

Halfway up the side of the _Planet_ building, she "dived" for the helicopter, thrusting her weight upward to make the helicopter fall to her faster, while she was soaring toward it at a close-to-normal pace. She heard the screaming passenger inside the helicopter and felt glad she decided to not try to catch the helicopter as she was running, because she would've certainly killed him if she had.

As the helicopter finally reached her, she put all of the weight that she had thrust onto the underbelly of the helicopter, using a combined force of superhuman strength and semi-average speed to carry it back up to the rooftop it had fallen from. For a brief moment, Heather felt like she was flying the huge machine up there, looking down at the long drop below her and seeing the way she was escalating up the side of the building. It almost made her feel like a giant or maybe even a bird, being as high in the air as she was.

_Clark sure is lucky to experience something as super as this on a daily basis_, she thought to herself.

It seemed that Heather timed everything just right, as her time in the air ended just as she reached the rooftop with the helicopter and landed both herself and it gently on the concrete. Nearby, Scrooge McDuck watched in utter disbelief at the magnificent strength performed by the small blonde girl, as she set the helicopter down safely at the center of the roof.

"Blow me bagpipes!" McDuck muttered, running up to the helicopter just as Fenton Crackshell climbed out of it with a horrified look on his face. "Fenton, are you alright? Say something, son!"

Fenton opened his mouth to attempt at uttering a few syllables in Scrooge's request. However, all that really came out were a few gasps and coughs. And then, out of nowhere, he screamed out, "Blathering blatherskite!"

There was a sudden electrical spark that emitted from within the helicopter, which Heather thought at first was a result of the extreme situation it was just in. But it wasn't until she saw strange mechanical parts fly out and surround Fenton Crackshell's body, one-by-one suctioning themselves to particular areas of it, did she realize that it was part of the "masterpiece" by Scrooge McDuck that her mother told her about.

As soon as all of the parts were on Fenton's body, he was barely even recognizable, with high-tech armor that covered every inch of him. He didn't even have webbed feet anymore, but instead a unicycle device. His torso was hidden deep beneath a large, chrome breastplate that covered his front and back—and even had a monitor built inside of it. His arms were contained in a black, rubbery fabric that was designed to be as indestructible as the rest of the armor, complete with large cuffs with buttons, switches, and a speaker on them. And to top it all off (literally), he wore a spiked, red-striped helmet with a purple visor that hid his identity well.

With a huge, black-gloved fist lifted high in the air, the duck formerly known as Fenton Crackshell exclaimed, "I am Giiizzzmmmoooddduuuccckkk!" And then he collapsed to the ground and fainted, much to the surprise of McDuck and Heather.

"Okay…that was weird." Heather remarked.

"Not as weird as _you_, young lady." McDuck stated, still amazed by what he had seen a moment ago. "Who are you? Where have you come from with such an amazing feat of strength?"

Heather nervously rubbed the back of her neck, not quite expecting anyone to be there on the roof at the time of her rescue. She intended just to bring the helicopter safely back onto the rooftop and then dash away, before someone saw her face and could connect it with her amazing deed. But with Scrooge McDuck, one of the most well-known people in the world, there to see the whole thing, it was hard for her to cover up the incident without leaving with her identity kept secret.

After stammering for seconds, Heather was suddenly saved, once her mother, her brother, and Louise appeared on the rooftop. It had taken them quite a bit of convincing to the police officers down at the street corner to let them through, so they could make sure Heather would be okay. However, once they noticed Scrooge McDuck there, it seemed things would probably be far from it.

Despite McDuck's presence on the rooftop, Alicia didn't resist in checking on her daughter. "Heather, baby, are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Mama." Heather affirmed.

"Mama?" McDuck said in surprise, looking left and right between the two women. "You mean, this young lady is your daughter?"

Alicia sighed, knowing how useless it was to try and hide this from the intelligent and wealthy figure. "Yes, Mr. McDuck. She's my daughter. And because she is, I must ask that you tell no one what she's done here this evening."

"Wh…Well…Why not?" McDuck inquired. "You should be proud of what your daughter has done." He gestured to the fainted Gizmoduck, whose appearance nearly startled Alicia. "She saved my bodyguard from certain death for goodness sake. That makes her a bigger hero than him!"

Alicia shook her head negatively. "I realize that, Mr. McDuck. But the thing is…my daughter…she's still learning about what she can do. If the world became aware of her abilities at this time of her young life, she'll certainly have no time to know more about herself. That, and the responsibility would be too heavy."

McDuck nodded, taking in Alicia's words with much thought. "I see your point, lass. And I'll make a deal with ya. The day your daughter decides to use her abilities for a greater good and is in full control of them, feel free—and I rarely ever use that term in a deal—to come to me."

"For what?" Heather dared to ask him.

And McDuck had a huge grin on his face as he answered, "For what could be the best offer I have ever given to a living soul."

With these being the last words spoken to her from Scrooge McDuck, Heather hung onto them over the next years of her life, having a sense of confidence so high that she practiced controlling her abilities up to the point that she began saving other lives all over Metropolis, without a single person knowing it was her. It was by then that she understood what McDuck's offer might've been and why he allowed her to wait so long to take it. She needed the time to learn about herself more, like her mother wished for her to, and gain more experience. And once she did, she was ready for the future that had been waiting for her.


	6. Chapter 6

**VI**

Eleven Years Later

It had been so long since the Kelley family moved out of their apartment complex, having been offered to stay in a better, classier home on the other side of Metropolis by Scrooge McDuck. As much as Alicia wanted to stay in the home that she raised Heather and Sean in, she knew someplace that was closer to Heather's college and her job at _The Daily Planet_ would be nice for the family. And they had come to grips with their new environment for the past years, with Heather having much more freedom to practice on her new abilities—with the help of her brother—and all of them making new friends in Scrooge McDuck, his nephews (Huey, Dewey, and Louie), Launchpad McQuack, Gyro Gearloose, and Fenton Crackshell.

However, it was one evening that Heather was drawn back to her old, troublesome neighborhood, when a large fire broke out in her old apartment home. She was notified about it by Scrooge, possibly in hopes of bringing out the superhero in her. It was all he seemed to bug her about, even when she was working her job at _The Planet_, despite her mother's wish to give her more time to practice her powers. She felt like a real guinea pig whenever he did, being tested against her will and not able to live her life the way she wanted.

For this case, she made an exception, as it _was_ her old home and some of the people she knew there were still decent, regardless of the way they treated her as a child. And while being flown there via helicopter by Launchpad and accompanied by Gizmoduck, she kept reminding herself of that to prevent from having second thoughts. Although she was raised well enough to know that helping others in need was crucial, no matter what kind of person he or she was.

"Let's try to keep this short and sweet, ya'll." Heather declared. "This building looks like it might collapse any second."

Gizmoduck sat behind Heather and Launchpad, tightening his fists not from the eagerness of saving lives but from the nervousness of Launchpad's history of bad flights. "With our combined prowess and strength, we shall succeed in two shakes of a lamb's tail!"

Heather looked back at the buff, high-tech duck and couldn't look past the fact that there was a scrawny, geeky duck beneath all the armor. And the funny part was that she _literally_ couldn't, considering that she recently acquired a little something called "x-ray vision" and could see Fenton Crackshell's weird face underneath the visor nearly at all times. As she shook her head and grinned, Launchpad suddenly informed them, "We're right over the roof of the building. You guys want me to land?"

"NO!" Heather and Launchpad briskly responded.

"Jeez, ya don't have to be so harsh about it," said an offended Launchpad.

"Sorry, L.P." Heather uttered, feeling a bit guilty. "Just hover us over there, and we'll jump out instead. We'll meet you at ground level, once we've gotten out safely."

Launchpad nodded and gave a thumb up. "Ya go it, Miss K!"

Heather smiled before opening the passenger side door at the left of the helicopter, letting in the massive gust of wind the fast-moving propellers were generating from above. She looked down at the rooftop, seeing how its worn-out structure was bubbling from the inferno within and looking like a scene out of _Backdraft_. If any firefighters had arrived at the scene, they would never make it to the topmost floors of the building in time to rescue the people there.

Luckily, extreme fires like this were harmless to a superwoman like Heather.

She leaped from the helicopter and dropped down at twelve feet through the air. When her feet hit the rooftop, she crashed right through it, landing directly in the midst of the insanely fiery atmosphere. The gray hooded sweatshirt that she wore started to catch on fire, and she was forced to put it out with her bare hands, knowing they'd be left unscathed. And even though her flesh was, the fabric of the sweatshirt wasn't, as there had been a huge scorch mark on the right side, exposing her torso.

"Aw, man. I just got these." Heather muttered.

There was another crashing noise a few feet behind her, and she looked behind to see Gizmoduck arrived in the same fashion she did, only a little sloppier. He fell right on his head upon the rough entrance, cracking his visor and revealing a little of Fenton's identity through his exposed left eye. After getting up, he seemed a little dazed, bouncing off the walls as he tried to roll himself straight. "No…need…to fear! Gizmoduck…is…in need of a paramedic!"

Heather rolled her eyes at her companion, starting to realize just why Scrooge McDuck considered her to be his "golden child" compared to the heap of metallic mess that was Gizmoduck. And that was when she heard the sound of people crying for help down the hall they stood in.

"This way, Giz!" She called to her dazed friend, who started to regain composure long enough to assist Heather.

They ran down the hallway and dodged the falling, flaming debris that came their way. When they finally reached to the room that the screams sounded from, Heather punched down the door, which felt like tissue paper under her extreme might. A massive wave of flames then shot out and engulfed her, forcing her to fall to the floor and roll around to put them out.

"Good heavens, Miss Kelley! Are you alright?" Gizmoduck asked in Fenton's usual concerned voice.

As soon as the flames on her body were out, Heather got to her feet and looked down at her body. Her clothes had been further scorched to the point that her sweatshirt had been reduced to a crop top, her long blue jeans burned down to her upper thighs, and her tennis shoes melting away. All of this damage done to her wardrobe, and there was not a hint of burns to her flesh. Even her hair remained in its normal state.

In response to Gizmoduck's question, she glared at him and said, "I'm just fine. Can we focus on the problem please?"

The two entered the room, which felt like the inside of a furnace to Gizmoduck. Fenton immediately switched the cooling unit built inside his suit, before he became a roasted duck within it. But it quickly dawned on him that the unit could've been used for better purposes than for himself, and he started letting out much of the cool air to put out the flames surrounding the area.

Heather noticed a large group of people huddled at the nearest corner of the room that wasn't on fire. Some of them she recognized from her days of living in the apartment, although they didn't recognize her in return—possibly due in part to the current situation. But it didn't matter all that much to Heather, as she was there for a rescue and not a reunion.

"Ya'll just relax," she told them, "everything's gonna be just fine." She looked to Gizmoduck, who was able to get all of the flames out in the room just in time for Heather to come up with an idea to rescue the people. "Giz! I'm gonna need you to carry everyone out through the window."

"Does this building not have a fire escape?" Gizmoduck remarked.

"If there were one, would you think they'd still be stuck here?" Heather snapped. "Just start gettin' them out…two at a time!"

Gizmoduck just shrugged and followed Heather's orders, helping her guide each individual in the room over to the window that he carried two out through and brought them down to street level, before flying back up to retrieve two others. This task was easier said than done, considering the bursts of flames that Gizmoduck had to dodge while flying up and down repeatedly, coming out through random windows.

While Gizmoduck was handling this task, Heather was keeping the tenants lined up in an orderly fashion and making sure that none panicked before waiting their turn to be escorted out by Gizmoduck. One, however, expressed deep concern in front of Heather, as she cried to her, "My baby! My baby's still trapped in his room!"

Heather didn't want to panic herself; but the thought of an infant left alone in a heavy inferno made her quiver. While trying to compose herself, she calmed down the frantic mother and said, "I'll go and get him. Just stay here and wait for my friend to come back, ya hear?"

"Please get him back! Please!" Those were the last words the mother told her, before she darted out of the room and back into the flaming hallway.

Heather knew that she should've asked the mother which number her apartment was before departing. Between the both of them being so worried about the child, her blunder was understandable. However, it wasn't a total loss, as she had two things to guide her: x-ray vision and super hearing.

Focusing hard, she used her "x-ray vision" to see through the walls and into the rooms, hoping there to be any sign of a crib within one of them. Unfortunately, she didn't see a single one, and from the sights of the huge collection of debris that had collapsed over the rooms, she wondered if the child had even survived at all.

The notion brought a heavy feeling over her heart, and she refused to believe in it. So she resorted to her second choice of power—the super hearing. Closing her eyes, she focused hard on her surroundings and deafened out the sizzling, crackling sound of the flames around her. She slowly began to hear crying in the distance somewhere…a baby's cry.

As soon as she realized that it was coming from down one floor rather than the one she was already on, she headed into the stairwell, where the inferno seemed to be worse than it was anywhere else. Parts of the stairs had collapsed, leaving large gaps that were impossible to leap over without becoming victim to a bone-shattering drop or a deathly one. However, the case was different for Heather, as she was capable to leaping great distances. And she handled these gaps with much grace and ease, dodging any flames that darted near her on the way down.

Reaching the entrance to the floor, she punched down the door and entered the hallway, which was more smoky than fiery. The black smoke blinded Heather, who was left to try out a new ability she learned a few years back. She took a deep breath and then exhaled, unleashing a powerful gust of wind that cleared out all of the smoke in one brief second. Although this power proved to be one of Heather's most useful ones, it took a small toll on her respiratory system, limiting her use of it. This being the reason she couldn't take out all the flames of the building with a single blow.

She heard the crying baby from the fifth door on the right and headed immediately into that direction. Once she got near the door, she rammed herself right through it, wasting no time in showing herself off with a simple punch or kick. Using her x-ray ability to see through the walls, she found the child lying inside a crib in what she assumed was his room. Thankfully, it hadn't been touched by the flames or the smoke. Not only did this keep the baby safe, but it also kept Heather from making the choice of busting down another door—something she didn't want to do near a baby, especially one already in danger.

Instead, Heather simply opened the door and slowly walked in, instantly spotting the crib at the left corner of the room. As she approached it and looked upon the baby inside, a smile registered upon her face. He reminded her of Sean, when he was that age. She was only eleven years old at that time and thought about him the same way she thought about this particular baby—small, precious, and beautiful with a shade of brown that made her think of the color of milk chocolate. It was one of the personal reasons why she needed to save this child from imminent doom.

Before picking the baby up out of the crib, she wrapped him carefully in the light blue blanket he was lying on top of, making certain he wouldn't be influenced from the effects of the inferno. She held him close to her bosom, while heading to the exit. However, just as she came near the doorway, there came a huge eruption of flames that blocked her way out.

She heard the baby crying and felt him fidgeting under her hold. "Don't worry, little fella," she whispered to him, "I'm gonna get ya outta here." Looking around the room, she saw no windows or other doors leading to adjacent rooms. The only way out was through the flames ahead of her…a way that she did not want to risk the safety of the infant in her arms to take, even with her super-blowing ability as a measure.

* * *

At the street corner down below, a large crowd had gathered across from the flaming apartment building, with a police barricade keeping them out of the way of the Metropolis Fire Department that had arrived ten minutes ago, taking out the fire with their hoses. Launchpad's helicopter was parked nearby, between two police vehicles, with Launchpad himself looking on with the other bystanders—some of whom once lived in the building, watching all their memories go up in smoke.

He noticed Gizmoduck coming up and down at the left side of the building, helping the tenants in the upper portion of the building to get down to safety. As soon as he rescued the last one, Launchpad ran up to him and asked, "Where's Miss K?"

Gizmoduck coughed out some of the smoke he had accidentally inhaled while inside the building before answering, "She was right behind me as I was guiding the people out. I could've sworn…"

"My baby!" A frantic woman screamed near the two—the same one whose child Heather went after. "Where's my baby?"

Before either Launchpad or Gizmoduck could've answered, a large explosion sounded high above, and everyone looked up in horror to see the entire top portion of the building collapse to pieces, while something—or someone—flew out from one of the windows and fell straight down to the concrete below. All eyes focused on the object, as its smoking form lied in a small crater in the middle of the street. After a few seconds did everyone realize it was a person; and after a few more did Launchpad, Gizmoduck, and the frantic mother realize it was Heather, still holding the crying baby in her arms.

"Oh, my god!" The mother cried, as she went to Heather, who appeared to be semi-conscious, taking her child away from her arms. Taking one look at her child, the mother found that he was safe and unharmed, yet a little shaken from the huge fall that Heather had taken from the building.

Heather, on the other hand, appeared to be quite a mess, having the remainder of her clothes completely burnt from her body. There were still no burns on her body, although there was plenty of soot covering it. Launchpad, seeing how naked she looked without her clothes, quickly dashed over to her, taking off his brown leathered flight jacket and wrapping it around her body.

"Thank you," she heard the mother of the child she rescued tell her. "I owe you my child's life."

"We owe you _all_ of our lives," said another one of the tenants who gathered to applaud Heather and Gizmoduck's bold rescue. All of the people behind the police barricade applauded as well, along with the police officers and a few firefighters.

Heather smiled from all of the gratitude, tears beginning to stream from her eyes. In a neighborhood that she hadn't received much respect, more less any attention for that matter, it brought a warm feeling in her heart knowing that her last memory there will be of this moment when she saved the lives of many old "friends," and a little new one she just made.

During the applause, Gizmoduck rolled in front of Heather and Launchpad, blocking them from the sight of the citizens, police officers, firemen, and news reporters that started to arrive at the scene. "Yes, yes. You are very welcome, dear folks. We are always here to help." He then turned to Heather and Launchpad and whispered, "Better get out while the gettin's good. Mister McDuck doesn't want the press finding out about you, Miss Kelley."

Heather nodded in agreement with Gizmoduck's idea, before Launchpad guided her back to the helicopter. Launchpad started it up, once they were both inside, taking off into the air and leaving Gizmoduck to handle all of the press. They asked questions pertaining to how he was able to rescue all of the tenants, and replied by telling them that he did it all by himself, much to his own displeasure. It was under Scrooge McDuck's orders not to allow anyone from _The Daily Planet_ or any other news affiliates to discover Heather Kelley and her superpowers, until Heather herself was ready to open herself to the world. And with the rescue happening in such a small neighborhood, it was easier to prevent that from happening.

Unfortunately, one of the people who witnessed the rescue wasn't from the neighborhood—a brunette dressed in a blue, thin sweater, some jeans to match, and a pair of black, high-heeled boots. Pinned to the upper left portion of her sweater was a _Daily Planet_ press badge with the name "Alexis Embers" printed on it. She also had a pair of binoculars dangling over her, using them to see all of what Heather and Gizmoduck had done in the building from a very clear viewpoint.

After watching Heather depart in Launchpad's helicopter, she pulled out a cell phone from her pocket and scrolled through her list of contacts. When she reached the name "D. Navarro" on the list, she pressed the "Send" button and placed the phone near her ear. A few rings sounded through the phone and then a depressed, feminine voice spoke from it, "You've found her?"

"Most definitely," said a confident Alexis. "I should've known the whole time it was her. Now the ballgame just got a lot simpler."

"You keep on her butt as carefully as you can." Navarro ordered. "This woman is the ticket to regaining what I'd lost so many years ago. And if you lose her…then God help you, Alexis." She hung up as soon as the threat had been issued, leaving Alexis to shut off her own phone and place it back into her pocket.


	7. Chapter 7

**VII**

Gotham City – 60 Miles Far From Metropolis

The bare, hairy, and muscular elbow came so swiftly to Detective Ciciley Michelle that she barely had enough time to block or dodge from it. Connecting with her stomach, she felt the wind completely escape her body, as she went down on one knee. She didn't falter to very long, with her six-foot, tattooed, bearded, and skin-headed opponent towering over her, apparently gearing himself up for another fierce attack.

"Ready for some more, ya half-breed cop?" He growled his racial threat at the 22-year-old, mulatto-born detective.

Ciciley chuckled and answered through a bloody mouth, "Half-breed, eh? That's the best comeback you've got, big man?"

Her opponent grabbed her by the collar of her black leather jacket, picking her up off the floor. Between her timid 5'1" size and his intimidating 6'11" height, it probably didn't take much brute strength to lift her completely off from the dirty, foul barroom floor. She practically felt her feet dangling, while her face was up close to the big man's foul breath.

"I don't like cops, and I hate people like you even more," he grumbled. "So tearin' you apart will be just too much fun for a measly couple of minutes!"

Ciciley sighed. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but…"

_POW!_

The moment her head came in direct contact with his huge nose, she felt the heavy sting come across her forehead and heard the collection of "ooh's" come from the other observing patrons. Instantly, the big lug dropped her, as he tried so hard to fight off the pain over his nose, while wiping the blood off from it. While he was distracted, Ciciley came in with a fast roundhouse kick across his face, which knocked him right into the nearby counter.

Reaching over the counter, the huge man pulled out a bottle of _Samuel Adams_ and smashed it over the side, turning it into a sharp stabbing weapon. The moment she noticed the broken bottle in his hand, Ciciley stood far from her opponent, eyeing him cautiously as he readied himself to end the detective's life there and then. After a brief moment, he came in with one swing, which barely connected with Ciciley's abdomen had she not leaped out of the way. But, unfortunately, she got caught on her right hand by the next one, as the glass came right over it and gashed open her flesh.

Ciciley momentarily looked down at her wound. It was deep and the blood flowed from it fast, consuming her entire hand in less than a minute. But she didn't care whatsoever, as long as the guy who did it to her went down. She glared right at him and, feeling the need to intimidate him, licked some of the blood off her hand. As much as she despised the disgusting iron-like taste that had already formed in her mouth, she needed to let this criminal know who was _really_ in control of this battle.

And as if he were reading her mind, he sneered, "Was that supposed to scare me?"

"No," she falsely admitted, "but this might!"

Spotting a dartboard at the corner of her eye, Ciciley snatched three of the darts from there and threw one of them at her opponent. It deeply stuck right into his left foot, and he howled in agony as it did, letting go of the broken bottle in his hand to get it out. However, before he could, Ciciley hurled the second dart at his bulbous right arm, making it stick deep into the upper portion of it. With one dart in his arm and another in his foot, the huge, muscular man had been rendered powerless, falling directly to the floor and screaming.

With the last dart gripped firmly in her hand, Ciciley went to the fallen criminal and grabbed him by his tight t-shirt, bringing his face closer to hers. "I'm sure your mama taught you never to hit a girl, but you just weren't listening, like you aren't right now! So lemme help you clean out those ears!"

As she brought the dart near his left ear, the man started screaming out in protest, "No! Please! Oh, god! No! What do you want from me?"

"I want to know who Navarro's contacts are!" Ciciley demanded, which the criminal only reacted in confusion over, not saying a single word. "Maybe you didn't _hear_ me clearly, dude. Let me just…"

Again she brought the dart near his ear, and again the criminal screamed, "Alright! Alright! I don't know _all_ of her contacts! I just know a couple of the ones she's scammed out of Arkham!"

"Tell me who they are!" Ciciley fiercely ordered.

"Some dudes named Quackerjack and Negaduck!"

Ciciley stopped and thought to herself why of all Arkham inmates would Navarro release those particular ones. And then it hit her: they were enemies of her worst one, Darkwing Duck. The self-proclaimed superhero that crippled Navarro by his infamous gas gun had been on Navarro's hit list for years. Why else wouldn't she break his two worst nemeses out of Arkham?

Making the tip of the dart slightly connect with the skin of his ear, Ciciley asked the criminal, "Tell me what else you know!"

"I…I swear! That's all I know! Please!"

She started to see tears stream down the sizes of this once-tough punk that was now at her mercy. For all the stress and pain that he put her through that night, she wanted to make him pay. But it wasn't in her nature to do that; unlike Navarro, she actually gave her opponents a chance to breathe another day. And that's exactly what she let this punk do, when she moved the dart away from his ear.

As she walked away from the fallen criminal, she approached the counter and told the stunned bartender, "Call an ambulance. And after that, call the police to haul his tail away."

"Y-Yes, ma'am," said the nervous bartender.

Both he and the other patrons watched her as she left, with mouths gaped open and awed expressions on their faces. Never before had they seen a small mulatto woman with black hair—and purple highlights at the front of it—take down such a huge brute the way she did. Yet the deep cut on her hand was a sign that she wasn't all that unstoppable. She was like Batman without his mask…or possibly worse.

Dripping blood on her way out of the bar, Ciciley crossed the dark, damp, littered street to her 2004 Nissan Maxima, where 23-year-old Sean Kelley was sitting, reading a copy of _The Daily Planet_ that had the headline "Man of Steel Reveals Kryptonian Origin" printed on the front page. As he noticed Ciciley coming up to the passenger side of the Maxima and knocking on the window with her fresh hand, he folded up the newspaper and set it in the backseat.

After he rolled the window down, he saw the bruises on her face and the blood trickling from the left side of her mouth, reacting in surprise over them. "What the hell happened in there?" he asked. "I thought you were going in to just ask questions."

"Well, what led to questions one minute led to me gettin' my butt handed to me the next." She remarked. "Let's not waste time worryin' about what happened in there, cousin. I need you to drive for me."

"D-Drive?" He seemed a little surprise from her request. "Why?"

Ciciley stuck her bloody hand right out in front of him and sarcastically said, "Well, ya see, I've got this little cut…it's probably no big deal…but I get just the craziest little sting whenever I make a fist or…"

"I've got ya, Cici." Sean said, before getting out of the vehicle and taking his place at the driver's side. Clipped on the brown leather blazer he wore was a laminated _Gotham Gazette_ press badge, with his image printed on the right side of it and his name printed in big, readable letters above.

After graduating college late last year and earning his journalism degree, Sean had chosen to use his skills in the confines of Gotham's dangerous society, knowing it was where the real action was—unlike in Metropolis. His mother wanted him to stay in Metropolis and join his sister at _The Planet_, trying her best to keep him far from danger. But his growing jealousy of his sister's attention from Scrooge McDuck, which kept them from spending more time together like they had as when they were younger, only urged him to go with his plan for joining the staff of _The Gotham Gazette_. He also assured his mother that her niece and his cousin, Ciciley Michelle, would watch out for him while he was there. And that was exactly what she had been doing for twelve months.

As he drove them away from the grim neighborhood, Sean glanced over at the passenger side, where Ciciley was in the process of nursing her wound from a first-aid kit that she kept in the glove compartment. Compared to the indestructible Heather, Ciciley seemed so fragile to him. It was almost as if she had always gotten herself into tough scrapes like the one back in the bar and had that first-aid ready for when she got a bad wound on her body.

"So…where exactly are we going?" he asked her.

"Captain Chavez reported a break-in at a warehouse near the docks, just minutes before I went into the bar," stated Ciciley, as she began bandaging her hand. "That's why I had to make quick on my 'interrogation', in order to get there before Navarro and Gonzalez did."

Sean nodded in understanding. "Then the docks, it is."

Ciciley tightened her bandage a little and let out a slight moan from doing so. "Aww, man! It hurts a lot worse than it tastes!"

"Wait…you _tasted_ it?"

She looked sheepishly at her cousin and said, "It was just a small lick, dude. No big deal."

Sean shook his head in disgust at her ideals in brutality; she was just as hardcore as the criminals she faced. And while having this thought, he noticed a stream of blue and red lights flashing behind them, followed by police sirens—a sound he became all too familiar with since moving to Gotham City.

Ciciley looked behind her, seeing the red 1950s automobile that was tailing them, and groaned in frustration, pounding her fresh hand over the dashboard. "Crap! Elisa Maza's on my butt _again_!"

Glancing at the classic vehicle, with the strobe of red and blue lights flashing from the dashboard, through the rearview mirror, Sean felt a little nervous. He never had been pulled over before, especially by one of the officers from Ciciley's own precinct.

"Should I pull over?"

"Might as well."

She sighed, while Sean pulled their car over to the left side of the street, with Elisa Maza's automobile doing the same. Shutting off the Maxima, Sean waited as Elisa exited her car and approached. Sean glanced at the side view mirror and recognized the familiar form of Detective Maza, from her red leather jacket to her light blue jeans.

Once Elisa knocked on the driver's side window, Sean rolled down the window and allowed her to slightly stick her head in. Being so close to Sean, he practically smelled the majestic perfume the raven-haired officer wore. "Figure you would be out in this neighborhood during night hours, Michelle," said Elisa, before she glanced towards Sean. "And you brought your poor cousin along, too?"

"He came on his own accord, Maza!" Ciciley snapped. "Now, if you don't mind, we're in the middle of an important case."

Maza rolled her eyes with great aggravation. "You _still_ assume Detective Navarro is a corrupt officer, don't you?"

"It's not an assumption, Maza…it's a belief!" Ciciley exclaimed. "So if you aren't gonna help me, then stay the hell out of my way!" She then turned to her cousin and aggressively ordered, "Start the car, Sean!"

He was about to do so, until Elisa reached over to his hand and softly asked of him, "Please take her back to the precinct, will ya?" The caress of her hand was just as soft as the tone in her voice. Out of all the violence, corruption, and grittiness of Gotham, Elisa was the only living soul of the city that made Sean comfortable being there.

And because she asked so politely, he attempted to carry out her order. But his aggressive cousin interfered by roughly grabbing his wrist and telling Elisa, "You think you're so coy, using sex to toy with my cousin!"

"What?" Elisa remarked with a mixed reaction of surprise and confusion.

Even Sean was a bit taken aback from her outburst as he hesitantly suggested, "Cici, maybe we should just go back to the precinct. You _were_ just in a bar fight and could probably use…"

"I _don't_ need a break!" She retorted. "What I need is for Detective Maza to get off my case, so I can save the one _decent_ police precinct functioning within Gotham City!"

"I'm giving you one last warning, Michelle," said Elisa, as Sean briefly noticed how her other hand was going into the left part of her jacket. "Come back with me to the precinct or…"

Out of nowhere, a Walther P99 semi-automatic pistol came right in his view, and it was aimed directly at Elisa. Holding it was obviously Ciciley, who was using her fresh hand to keep a firm grip on it. She knew from the moment she noticed Elisa reaching into her jacket that the detective was going for her own handgun—wise observation from a girl who had only been promoted to detective, six months ago.

Sean was shocked to see her aiming her standard weapon at a fellow officer, but not as Elisa was. "Ciciley," she cautiously said, "Don't do this. Don't throw…"

"Shut up and hand over your piece!" Ciciley demanded. But when Maza didn't acknowledge after a few seconds, Ciciley cocked her gun and then viciously repeated her demand, "Hand it over…_now_!"

Elisa let out a deep sigh, as she slowly pulled her Beretta 92 from her jacket and handed it over to the seemingly paranoid Ciciley. "I'm on orders from Captain Chavez to bring you back to headquarters. What am I gonna tell her, when I get back?"

"You're gonna tell her that I used excessive force to bring your butt in my car and drive you over to the docks to help investigate on Detective Navarro. Understood?"

It was an obvious setup from the somewhat experienced young detective that Elisa walked right into, the moment she knocked on the window. She deduced that she would go for her gun, when she refused to go quietly with her. And since she _was_ trapped, she had to oblige the demand of the woman whom was keeping her at gunpoint.

As she got into the back of the Maxima, she rolled her eyes and uttered, "Here comes my suspension."

At the moment Ciciley looked his way, Sean restarted the car and continued driving in the direction of the docks area. He felt more nervous than he had when Elisa pulled them over, wondering if he would be charged for this mutinous action from his cousin. Even while looking in the rearview mirror at the distraught Elisa in the backseat, the bad feelings of the situation just overwhelmed him within every mile they passed.


	8. Chapter 8

**VIII**

Metropolis

There were only a couple of ladies in the women's bathroom at the time 38-year-old Louise Rogers arrived there, carrying a small duffel bag. She felt a little ridiculous coming there with it, but she had her reasons for bringing it, after receiving a phone call earlier that evening from Heather Kelley. Being told that she had to be there at nine o'clock sharp to meet her, she wondered what had to so urgent for them to meet in the women's bathroom.

Considering that neither of the ladies in the restroom at that time were Heather, Louise just stood by the sink, set the bag down beside it, and looked at her face in the mirror, pretending to be checking on her makeup. She didn't often like looking at herself in the mirror, knowing how much older she had become. Every morning when she woke up, she had to put extra makeup around her eyes, where she noticed some wrinkles developing. But it could not have gotten as serious as when she discovered a couple of grey hairs growing from her scalp.

The two women in the bathroom with her looked to be in their late twenties – the age range that she fell into, just eleven years ago. And for a second, she could've sworn that they glanced in her direction and slightly giggled. They certainly giggled, as she heard them do so while leaving the restroom; but it was hard for her to tell if they glanced. She might've just been paranoid, worrying too much about her age. It was best for her to focus on when Heather was going to show up for her to hand over the contents in the duffel bag: a black bolero jacket, a light blue undershirt, a pair of blue skinny jeans, and some black sneakers.

After two minutes alone in the bathroom, checking herself in the mirror, Louise finally heard a familiar voice say to her from within the stalls, "Just slide the bag under the door, Lou."

Louise nearly jumped out of her skin, believing that she was completely to herself within the confines of the women's restroom. Apparently, Heather had been hiding in the locked bathroom stall for some time. She curiously got down on her knees and glanced under the door, seeing a pair of bare feet that were slightly covered with soot. Louise could practically smell the smoke coming out from the stall area.

"Good Lord, girl!" She exclaimed. "Where've you been hanging out in your spare time? _Outback Steakhouse_?"

Heather's soot-coated hand suddenly poked out from under the door, frantically waving around. "Would you just hand me the damn bag?"

"Alright, alright." Louise uttered, before she slid the duffel bag to Heather's hand, allowing her to grab it as frantically as she begged for it. "I'm guessing McDuck sent you on another errand this evening, am I correct?"

"This one I couldn't pass on," she remarked, as Louise heard her unzipping the bag and putting on the clothes. "It was at the apartment that my brother and I practically grew up in. There was an accidental fire that took place, and I had to go in and save all the residents."

"Were you okay?" Louise asked, which she knew at the last minute was a dumb question, seeing that the person she asked it to was indestructible.

"I was fine, Lou," said Heather, sounding a little annoyed. "But my old home saw its last light of day today."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Heather." Louise said, sounding very sincere.

"Yeah, so am I." Heather remarked, sounding a little sad. "It looks like my only real home is the one Scrooge McDuck bought for me – even if it is just some shack to keep me close to where all the action takes place."

"Speaking of your mother, how's she been lately?" Louise asked. "I've been missing her, ever since she retired from _The Planet_."

Heather sighed before she answered, "She's trying to pull through. The doctor gave her some meds to fight off whatever it is that's been going on with her blood."

Louise sighed just as heavily as Heather did. "I wish to God that I knew what was wrong with her, so I could give some tips. I've done enough research in medical practice during my early years on the job to know how to cure even the most common cold."

"I can't help but wonder if it's because of me." Heather woefully said. "I mean, those scientists who experimented on her did something that led to my existence. If I hadn't been conceived, she would be…" She stopped and sniffed a little, on the verge of crying.

Hearing this, Louise quickly spoke out in hopes of reassuring her. "Sweetie, don't you dare let yourself think that way. Whatever those scientists did to let your mother have you was a blessing, if you ask me. And I'm sure that whatever's happening to her now will go away…just wait and see, okay?"

The door to the stall suddenly came open, and Heather walked right out, wearing the clothes that were given to her by Louise. She wiped away the tears that had already fallen from her eyes, as she approached the mirror. "I just wish Sean were here to let me know that, Lou. Ever since he moved to Gotham, I've been buggin' out, wonderin' if it was somethin' I did to have him make such a decision."

"He just needs a little time for himself, that's all." Louise assessed, although she wasn't one hundred percent certain. "Your cousin, Ciciley, will be there to watch over him."

"Yeah, that's another reason for me buggin' out." Heather said with a chuckle. "That girl can be two fries short of a _Happy Meal_ at times – there's a reason why Mama never let us hang around there, other than the fact that it's nested with the nastiest thugs that have ever graced the earth."

Louise snickered a little. "You ain't just blowin' smoke from your butt on that one, girlfriend. There are times when Perry White would sent me out into that lion's den to try and find a scoop on that Batman character who's been scouting the streets every night. But I'd just give him a big, fat 'no' in response."

"And what would he say?" Heather curiously asked.

"He wouldn't say anything – just write a big, fat zero on my check." Louise answered with a laugh that seemed to resonate to Heather as well – just as Louise had planned.

Heather was amazed by how well Louise's attempt to cheer her up worked. She had completely forgotten what it was that she was crying over, yet she couldn't forget her mother's illness. However, she did heed Louise's positive attitude of everything turning out all right from the situation. "Thanks, Lou. I really needed that."

Louise smiled, placing a hand on Heather shoulder and saying, "Your mom's gonna be just fine, kiddo. I've known her for years – she's a tough old gal…she'll pull through this."

With a small nod and smile, Heather accepted Louise's assurance and calmed herself a little. Her subconscious then reminded her of something crucial that made her glance at her wrist to see her watch – only realizing that her watch had gotten destroyed in the fire earlier. "Oh, man! Lou, what time is it?"

Louise glanced at her wristwatch and replied, "It's a quarter pass nine…why?"

"Damn! I'm late for a dinner date with Mr. McDuck!" Heather exclaimed, rushing towards the exit, with Louise following after her.

"Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that he set up a dinner date with you, knowing full well that you were on an assignment that he sent you on?"

"He figured since I'm faster than a speedin' bullet, I could make time to save people from a fire and get to his house in time to have dinner with his family."

Louise scratched her head in confusion, despite the full explanation that Heather had provided her with. "W-Well…do ya need a ride there? I've got plenty of money to give you for a cab or something."

"No, no. You've helped me plenty with the clothes, Lou."

"Yeah, that reminds me…why exactly did you need those clothes? Did the ones you already have get burned off?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

A look of surprise came across Louise's face on this thought. "You mean that you came here wearing nothing but your birthday suit?"

Heather shushed her, once she realized just how loud she sounded on that last part of her statement. She looked around for a minute, seeing if any of the other employees in the workroom had heard her. Thankfully, not very many were there that evening, including Lois Lane and Clark Kent. However, she did spot one particular person there that stood out from everyone else, wearing dignified clothing and a stern look upon his face. This was Duckworth, Scrooge McDuck's butler/chauffer, who was obviously there for Heather.

Knowing that McDuck was probably expecting her a lot sooner than she believed, Heather rapped up her conversation with Louise as quickly as possible. "Listen, Lou…I'll check with ya tomorrow. I've really gotta bust on outta here. See ya later!" Louise attempted to say one more thing before she walked away, but she was already so before she had the chance. Instead she just waved goodbye and went to her desk, returning back to her lonely state for the rest of the evening.

As soon as Heather had approached Duckworth, he immediately said to her in his usual no-nonsense British tone, "Mister McDuck had expected you to be at his mansion at exactly nine o'clock on the dot."

"I know, but he sent me on this assignment and I couldn't…"

"If you're working to impress the richest duck in Metropolis, Miss Kelley, then I would suggest on purchasing something that would help you keep up with the time…preferably a wristwatch."

Heather rubbed her bare wrists in embarrassment, after the scolding that she got from the strict butler. She could only imagine what sort of tongue-lashing she would've received from McDuck, if Duckworth were that displeased with her tardiness. Neither of them spoke another word, as they went down the elevator, exited the _Daily Planet_ building, and climbed into Scrooge McDuck's fancy car to drive all the way to his mansion outside the city.

Half an hour had already passed once Duckworth and Heather arrived there, making her much later than she tried to avoid herself to be. As she sat there in the backseat of the vehicle, gazing upon the dazzling sight of Scrooge McDuck's three-story, violet-colored mansion, she wondered just how much patience an important figure like Scrooge McDuck had before he reached his own personal boiling point. She dared not to think about any longer, as Duckworth pulled right in near the front steps of the mansion, where there appeared to have been another vehicle parked as well.

Seeing the other car, Heather wondered if she might've been off the hook from being late for the dinner date. This thought stayed in her mind, as Duckworth led her into the foyer of the mansion, where Scrooge's nephews (Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck) and Webby, the granddaughter of Scrooge's maid (Mrs. Bentina Beakley), were playing a harmless game of chase.

Just as Webby and the boys spotted Duckworth and Heather, they stopped playing and greeted, "Hiya, Heather!"

"Hey, kids," she remarked with a smile and a waving gesture that involved twiddling her fingers. "Your uncle isn't too sore at me, is he?" She rubbed the back of her head and spun a lock of her blond hair around her index finger, displaying the obvious nervousness that she felt.

Huey, Dewey, and Louie had looks of awkwardness registering on their faces, as they stammered to give Heather a decent answer to her question. It was Dewey that finally said, "Well…he's madder than usual..."

"Aww, man." Heather uttered, feeling like her stomach just dropped out of her.

Louie then quickly added, "But it's not towards you."

"Oh," said Heather, who seemed more confused than relieved. "Well, if he's not mad at me, then who _is_ he mad at?"

Her question had soon been answered when the dining room door flew open all of the sudden and out walked a duck that resembled Scrooge McDuck in appearance, with the exception of a full beard, sideburns, a dark tam o'shanter (with a red pom pom), a black coat, and a Scottish kilt. Another different from Scrooge was the conniving expression that always plagued his face, especially at the current time that he walked out from Scrooge's dining room.

McDuck himself followed his guest out of the room, shouting at him in a tone of voice that Heather counted herself lucky not to be the target of. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here to _my_ house and making such demands, Flintheart Glomgold! I wouldn't agree to a sale for all the money you've got stashed away in your pathetic excuse for a money bin!"

"Have it your way, Scroogie." The duck that was equally as Scottish as McDuck responded in a calm demeanor. "You know that I always get what I want, no matter what obstacles come my way."

"I'll see that ya don't!" Scrooge retorted, right before he hurled some type of file into the nearest fireplace, leaving it to burn straight to ashes. "And don't you _ever_ blackmail me that way again! I don't know how you were able to attain this information, but I'll see to it that every single copy you have get confiscated and you'd be put in jail for all eternity!"

Glomgold cackled sinisterly. "Good luck with that, Scroogie. You're not just dealin' with one simple duck anymore. I've got people higher than even you on my side this time. And there's not a blasted thing you'll be able to do about it!"

Scrooge didn't bother replying with any threats or witty remarks on that statement from Glomgold. Instead he just glared at him, as he made his way towards the front door. On his way there, he passed by Heather, who appeared very perplexed over the whole disagreement. Glomgold looked at her in a way that made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She wondered for a second, _Did this conversation have somethin' to do with me?_

"GET OUTTA MY HOUSE!" Scrooge furiously roared, seeing the way Glomgold had been staring at the _Daily Planet_ employee.

The wicked duck just grinned at Scrooge, before walking out the door. With Glomgold gone, Scrooge sat himself down in the closest chair he could find, breathing heavily and putting a hand over his forehead. He looked very exhausted and even a little worried.

Concerned about her boss and friend, Heather calmly asked, "Mr. McDuck? What was that all about, if you don't mind me askin'?"

The exhaustion and worry on Scrooge's face was instantly replaced with frustration again, as he looked to Heather and exclaimed, "Never you mind about Glomgold! You promise me that you'll never go near that duck again! He's nothing but trouble, and you don't need any more trouble, after being so late for our dinner date, young lady!"

Heather nearly wet herself from the harsh tone in his voice as he addressed her. "Y-Y-Yes, s-sir!"

McDuck then directed his attention to Webby and the boys, dropping the intense tone in his voice down a little as he addressed them. "And what're you four doing up this late? Upstairs to bed…now!"

"Duh, w-whatever you say, U-Unca Scrooge!" Huey acknowledged, before he, Webby, and his brothers rushed upstairs to their respective bedrooms, closing the door behind them.

Finally, Scrooge directed his focus upon Duckworth, who had been standing in the room the entire time and maintaining his dignified stance – regardless of all the negativity there. "What're you standing around for? Don't you have some dishes to wash or…something?"

Duckworth let out a sigh that was barely audible to Scrooge's ears, but clear as a bell to Heather's – considering her "super hearing." He said in a monotone voice to McDuck, "If you wish to be alone, sir, all you have to do is ask." And with that, he left the room and allowed his boss to be alone with Heather.

Sounding very calm for the first time since she arrived there, McDuck told Heather, "Glomgold knows about your secret."

Her eyes widened in shock from this news. "Say what?"

"The snake came here with photos of you saving the people from that burning building earlier tonight," said Scrooge, gesturing to the fireplace where the file containing the photos had been turned to ashes.

Heather shook her head in confusion and disappointment. "How was he able to get photos? The press hadn't even arrived there until _after_ Fenton and I saved all the people from the building!"

"He's got to have some sort of spy working for him. He did say that he's working with bigger people. I wonder whom it could be." He stopped and pondered for a moment, going through a mental list of adversaries he had encounter in the past years. "Could it be Magica De Spell? No, that'd be improbable – Magica wouldn't know anything about the slightest modern technology, even cameras." He then moved on to the next name on the list. "El Capitan could be one possibility – he and Glomgold have worked together to put an end to my business for the longest time."

"Isn't that dude like four hundred years old?" Heather inquired. "Even with my _average_ speed, I would've spotted a guy _that_ slow."

Scrooge nodded in agreement. "Aye, you have a point, lass."

Another possible name on Scrooge's list suddenly popped in Heather's mind. "What about the Beagle Boys? They've been the closest thing to a massive threat to you and your business before."

"Bah! Every known Beagle from Ma to Babyface had been placed under police custody, since they tried robbing me during an incident in Gotham City years back. I doubt Glomgold would even try to bail them out on the amount that the judge sentenced them with." Thinking about the Beagles made Scrooge ponder over the notion of masks, which led to his next outburst. "I knew we should've fitted you with something to hide your identity, should the press ever find out about you!"

"I will refuse to become another Batman or Darkwing Duck to the media, Mr. McDuck!" Heather snapped. "People distrust those that wear masks, when they try to do the right thing. I mean, look at Superman – he doesn't hide his face from anyone, especially when I know that he's…" She stopped, alerting herself of what she was about to reveal to McDuck. Instead she refocused back on the main subject of their discussion when she promised McDuck, "I'll find out who's behind this, Mr. McDuck. I had never failed you before, and I won't dream of doin' it no…"

Before she could finish her statement, the telephone in the kitchen rang. They both heard it clearly from the foyer, until the moment Duckworth answered it. After a moment of chatting with the caller, the butler finally called to Heather and said, "Miss Kelley, it is for you."

Heather exchanged a confused glance with Scrooge and then headed into the kitchen to take the call. Scrooge remained in the foyer, continuing to ponder over possible suspects of Glomgold's current scheme. That's when he heard Heather gasp in shock and looked through the kitchen entrance to see her placing a hand over her mouth and tears beginning to stream down her eyes. Scrooge's body went stiff, as he was completely aware that something had gone wrong. During suspicious times such as this, he hoped that Flintheart Glomgold had no part in it.

However, the heartbroken look on Heather's face contradicted any of those thoughts of Scrooge McDuck's.


	9. Chapter 9

**IX**

Gotham City

A large, thick fog plagued the dock area heavily that night, as Ciciley, Elisa, and Sean arrived there. Nervousness continued to overwhelm Sean while pulling up near the sidewalk, just a block away from the warehouse. Across from him was the still-bleeding Ciciley, aiming her gun at the head of Elisa Maza, a woman who was only doing her job and seemed to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was pretty obvious that the warehouse had been broken into, because the chain that was supposed to be locked around the front entrance was clearly snapped loose. Indeed someone had broken in, but the important question was who had done so. That was the one thing Ciciley was determined to find out, even if it meant taking Elisa along with her.

"Get your butt outta the car, Maza." She demanded of the detective. "You're comin' with me."

"Why? So your cousin won't see you pull the trigger?"

"Shut up!" Her harsh tone made Sean jump a little; obviously he was thinking what Elisa said was the truth. Seeing his anxiety, Ciciley calmly assured him, "I'm _not_ going to kill her. I'm just gonna prove to her that I'm not the corrupt one here."

Elisa scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, please."

"Navarro and Gonzalez will be here any moment and then you'll see what they've been doing behind the backs of every Gotham City Police official." Ciciley stated, before pulling out a pair of handcuffs and tossing them to Elisa. "And if I'm lying, then you've got my permission to haul my paranoid butt off to jail for insubordination or whatever you wanna call it."

Maza glanced at the handcuffs in confusion, wondering if it might've been some type of ploy. For all she knew, Ciciley could've had a spare pair of cuffs in her back pocket or saving the one she handed to her for whatever trap she could've been setting up. Without a gun by her side, she needed to be ready for anything. So she nodded in agreement with Ciciley's offer and placed the handcuffs in her left pocket.

"Alright," she regretfully said. "Let's do it."

Both women exited the vehicle simultaneously, leaving Sean to continue sitting where he was and being as nervous as he could be. He felt the usual cramping sensation come over his stomach during moments such as this, and his hands even started to shake a little while clutching onto the steering wheel. These were the kinds of situations that he imagined to run into when he moved to Gotham City, anticipating on the risks that he had to take in order to maintain a reasonable career as a field reporter. He watched from the driver's seat how Ciciley and Elisa crossed the street, making their way around to the back of the warehouse.

The rear area contained loads of crates, stacked against and on top of each other. They were exactly what Ciciley needed to get where she wanted herself and Maza to be – the warehouse rooftop. From there, they could observe everything that was happening inside through the skylight and not worry about being spotted by whoever had already busted in and was waiting for Detectives Navarro and Gonzalez.

Ciciley forced Elisa to climb up the crates first, aiming her gun straight at her head to motivate her in doing so. Sometimes it amazed her how much power a gun had, even while it wasn't being fired. But nothing impressed her more than the secret she was keeping to herself about the gun: **it wasn't even loaded**. Ciciley realized it would be pointless to shoot Elisa, if she would be the only witness to the corruption happening in their department. As long as she had her thinking the gun being pointed at her was really loaded, then she would have no trouble convincing her.

Once the two women reached the warehouse rooftop, they headed to the nearest of the six skylights sitting parallel to each other. Through it, they got a perfect view of the space somewhere at the center of the warehouse, where an antique wooden, rectangular table sat. Right beside it was a middle-aged Asian-born man wearing a lab coat, tied and gagged to a chair. Across from him were two other parties who were all too familiar to Ciciley and Elisa: Quackerjack – a former toymaker turned vicious jester with a weird obsession for toys – and Negaduck – a bizarre, evil version of Darkwing Duck, donned in a red, black, and yellow costume that opposed Darkwing's usual gray and purple one.

A confused Elisa Maza looked on the scene, several questions running through her mind. "What're these weirdoes doing here?"

"Navarro got them out of Arkham." Ciciley answered. "Why she did it? I have no clue. But it's anything but good, I'll tell ya that much."

At that point, they heard a vehicle pull up in front of the building. Ciciley didn't have to guess all that much to know it was her two prime suspects making their way there. They kept their focus through the skylight, as Quackerjack and Negaduck were keeping a close eye on the man who could only be assumed to be a scientist from his lab coat. Quackerjack was jumping madly up and down on the table, taunting the scientist with words that were inaudible to Ciciley and Elisa.

The screeching sound of the front entrance sounded in their ears, as Navarro and Gonzalez were coming into the warehouse. Negaduck moved away from the table, leaving Quackerjack alone with the scientist temporarily. During the moments in which Negaduck was away, Quackerjack further tormented the scientist with the antics of his banana-headed doll, "Mr. Banana Brain," sticking it into his face and telling jokes from what Ciciley and Elisa could understand.

When Negaduck returned to the scene, he was accompanied by Gotham City Detectives Navarro and Gonzalez, who were armed with shotguns and pistols. Ciciley and Elisa could only guess that they were armed this way, because they might've anticipated the two Arkham escapees to try something crazy or stupid during this meeting. Navarro was dangerous, but she wasn't naïve; she knew the criminals' profile and didn't dare herself to take any chances.

Ciciley glanced over at Elisa, seeing the look of betrayal registered on her face. As pleasant as it was to see, she somewhat regretted that she had to find out this way. "I'm sorry, Maza," she sincerely told her.

"Why would she do this?" Elisa angrily inquired. "She is a dedicated officer, practically one of the best we've got in our department. There's no reason for her to go over the edge like this!"

"That's what I've been trying to wrap my head around, ever since I was promoted to detective." Ciciley looked back down through the skylight, watching Navarro as she walked towards the scientist. "But whatever it is, this guy's got some connection to it. Why else would she have Quackerjack and Negaduck bring him to…?"

_BAM!_

The ring of the shotgun resonated throughout the warehouse, shaking its very foundation – Ciciley and Elisa even felt the skylight's frame vibrate from it. Apparently the Asian scientist didn't seem to be of too much importance to them, with Navarro blowing his head away. Ciciley and Elisa jumped in surprise from the unexpected occurrence and alarmed Ciciley to the point that she forced herself in loading up her own gun.

"Dear God!" Elisa exclaimed. "What has come over this woman?" She then realized how Ciciley was loading her weapon and felt more deceived than she already was. "You mean that you were…?"

After finishing up, she held the gun up to Maza's face and interrupted her in mid-sentence. "You wanna go into this now, while there's a homicidal police officer in our presence?"

Staring down at the barrel of the gun, Maza curiously asked her, "What do you intend on doing anyway? You've got two criminals and two corrupt officers in there, ready to blow you away at any second! How far do you think you're going to get in stopping them with _just_ a gun?"

"That's why I gave you the handcuffs." Ciciley said, following that statement with a wink.

While Elisa pulled out the handcuffs and stared at them in confusion, Ciciley stood back a few inches and aimed her gun directly at the skylight. Firing one shot, she blew away the skylights, showering the four corrupt souls down below with sharp-edged glass. Navarro, Gonzalez, Negaduck, and Quackerjack all dodged out of harm's way, covering their heads with their arms in protection.

"What the heck…?" Negaduck exclaimed.

With the distraction in place, Ciciley leaped down through the broken skylight, falling fourteen feet towards the table. The moment her body hit it, the legs beneath had collapsed. She knew the risk in taking the drop, feeling the sharp pain in her left ankle, which seemed to be sprained from what she could tell. But she didn't have time to lick her wounds, as the adversaries surrounding her would be ready to pounce at any moment.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Detective Gonzalez aiming her shotgun at her. Quickly, she fired her gun in his direction, missing his right arm by an inch and hitting the side of a nearby crate instead. The sudden action was enough to force Gonzalez to fall back into the shadows, which was what his cohorts had done as well.

Weakly getting up, Ciciley limped towards a nearby crate and sat down upon it, while looking upwards to the broken skylight that Maza was looking down at her through. "You alright?" she asked in concern.

"Never mind!" She retorted. "Find another way in!"

Elisa nodded in acknowledgment and departed from the broken skylight. Meanwhile, Ciciley began limping around the corner, heading between a large stack of crates. Gripped firmly in her right hand was her gun, with ninety percent of a fresh round of ammunition still left after firing two bullets at the skylight and one at Gonzalez.

She was just about near an intersection amongst the crates, until the ammo from a shotgun was unloaded right in front of her, scratching the very spot on the floor that she almost stepped upon. "Take another step, Cici, and it's your head!" The threat came from Detective Navarro herself, as she stood at the very top of a mountain of steel crates, her shotgun aimed directly at Ciciley.

Ciciley glanced her way, seeing the ominous way she appeared, with her silhouette eerily illuminated by the light hanging behind her. She could only make a few of her most unattractive features, such as the patch she wore over her grotesquely injured eye and the hints of grey in her dark brown hair. "It's over, Navarro. I've got Elisa Maza with me here. Your little fun and games ends here and now."

"Whoever said this was all fun and games?" Navarro asked. "This is business, kiddo. Something your inexperienced mind clearly knows nothing about."

"I'd rather be inexperienced than loopy like you and your so-called friends." Ciciley retorted. "What were you thinking busting Quackerjack and Negaduck out of Arkham? And you kill an innocent man for no reason at all?"

"Quackerjack and Negaduck just needed some air – gets a little funky in that asylum." Navarro remarked. "And as far as that scientist goes, there was an excellent reason for me killing him."

Before Ciciley could have asked for an explanation to the reason, she caught the smell of iron being melted. She then felt some intense heat coming close nearby and spotted the exterior of one crate melt away into a puddle of scolding hot iron. At first it was a huge mystery to her; but once she witnessed the glowing eyes of a tall, muscular man who was clad in all black, from the ski mask he wore to his boots, walk out through the hole made in the steel crate, things became clear and puzzling at the same time.

The inhuman stranger advanced towards Ciciley, who unloaded on him with a hail of bullets. However, once they made contact with his body, they just bounced right off of him. Realizing that the man was wearing some type of body armor, Ciciley saved her bullets and decided to take him on, hand-to-hand. She rushed at him, executing a roundhouse kick with her healthy leg that connected with his face.

Although the stranger's head swiveled slightly from the kick, it did not seem to faze him whatsoever. In fact, it was Ciciley who suffered more from the impact, as the leg she used to kick had been sprained just like her other one. She fell to the floor, nursing her freshly injured leg, while looking up at the stranger who towered over her. It bewildered and surprised her to realize that kicking this man's face was close to kicking a brick wall.

_What the hell is he?_

She didn't waste pondering this question any further, as soon as she watched the stranger reached down at her, picking her up by the collar and lifting her high off the floor. If the thug she faced at the bar wasn't enough of a challenge for her, this bizarre behemoth of a man definitely was. And with an extreme amount of superhuman strength, he hurled her body far across the air, causing her to land hard into a pile of wooden crates.

Detective Navarro looked on in amusement from what she witnessed.

The moment Sean heard the shots fired from around the warehouse, he reached for his cell phone and called the police. He wasn't sure if Ciciley would've wanted him to do that or not, but he doubted that even she knew what do in this situation. Gotham P.D. promised that help would arrive as soon as possible – of course, knowing them, it would be a lot longer than that. It was that reason why he almost decided to take matters into his own hands, making use of the gun left behind in the seat that Ciciley had occupied, which belonged to Elisa Maza.

That was until he spotted Detective Maza herself rushing towards the Maxima, with a look of urgency masked on her face. As soon as he saw her, he climbed out of the vehicle and approached, feeling heavily concerned about Ciciley, whom was not accompanying her. "What's wrong? What happened? Is Cici alright?"

"Sean, try to relax. Everything will be fine." Elisa calmly said. "I just need you to hand me my gun."

He complied with her demand, reaching into the Maxima and retrieving her weapon. As he had done so, he told her, "I contacted Gotham P.D. They said that they'd be here at any moment."

Elisa's eyes registered an alarmed reaction to this news. She then said to herself in a low voice, "Then _my_ backup better get here quick."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," she quickly answered, while taking her gun from him. "Just stay in the car. Help will arrive shortly."

Although he begged to differ about help arriving within that time limit, Sean nodded in agreement over her demand. While he got back into the Maxima, she rushed back to the warehouse, cocking her pistol and gripping it in ready position. Watching her go, Sean prayed that this situation wouldn't become any worse than it was already starting to. As dangerous and crazy as she was, that was his cousin in there, and he would be devastated if anything happened to her.

Upon getting back into the Maxima, he heard a faint whooshing sound come overhead, as if something with wings just flew or glided over the area. He looked up to see what it might've been, but could barely make out much in the dense fog. Whatever it was, he certainly hoped that it had no involvement with what was currently happening.


	10. Chapter 10

**X**

"I'm sorry that I was late pickin' ya up, D.W." Launchpad apologized for what seemed like the hundredth time to his boss. "I was…uh…busy handlin' some…other stuff."

He stumbled on his words more than he stumbled on his flight control, which he was used to doing in his years of flying. It was on orders of his _other_ boss, Scrooge McDuck, to not reveal any information on Heather Kelley and her "special" lifestyle, which he was more involved in than he cared to be. And that made his involvement with his other employer, Drake Mallard (a.k.a. "Darkwing Duck"), just as much difficult, with maintaining his secret as a crime-fighter, which was a secret in itself with him moonlighting behind both of his bosses' backs.

Regardless of the countless apologizes from his pilot and friend, Darkwing was focused on one thing only: **getting to the warehouse in time to stop the evildoers who broke in**. "Launchpad, for gazillionth time, I accept your apology! Would ya just concentrate on getting us to the warehouse?"

"Oh! Sure thing, D.W." Launchpad confirmed, looking over the cockpit window and down at the city of Gotham. It was a stark contrast to the "squeaky clean" atmosphere of Metropolis, with neighborhoods that looked very poor in appearance. Seeing it in such a condition, it was no wonder that the crime rate was so high. How Darkwing Duck and the G.C.P.D. were able to keep things together was a miracle in itself.

Yet they were technically not alone in it, especially seeing that the "new guy" in town was doing most of the work. Although Launchpad didn't know much about him, because not very many in Gotham or anywhere else have gotten the chance to talk to him, he did know what they called him – Batman. To McQuack, he was almost the perfect doppelganger, a superhero that spent his nights fighting crime and donned in darkly clad attire. With the only difference being in species, the two would often be confused by the Gotham City citizens, whenever either of them was spotted at the scene. Most of them it drove Darkwing crazy when that would happen, because he didn't see the similarity between himself and an unruly vigilante like Batman – it was this reason why he would refuse to work with him.

Despite how much he despised him, Darkwing would never stop bringing "The Dark Knight" up at certain times, including during cases like the one he and Launchpad were currently on. "I've gotta get there, before the _Dork_ Knight shows. The last thing we need is for a vigilante to butt into official police business."

"But, D.W., you don't work for the police _either_." Launchpad reminded him. "A-And you're just as much as a vigilante as he is, no offense."

Darkwing scoffed at Launchpad's "compliment." "None taken, L.P. Because I'm the polar opposite of that clown. At least I have the common courtesy to fight crime in both the day _and_ the night. And who dresses up like a bat of all things? He might as well be better off as a panther, a spider, or even a wolverine…species that are _way_ deadlier than a bat!"

"I dunno, D.W." Launchpad said with a chuckle. "Bats are pretty scary."

"Oh, please!" Darkwing retorted. "I can think of a _billion_ other things that are a thousand times scarier!"

_KA-BOOM!_

A bright flash came out directly ahead of them, shining through the cockpit of Darkwing's personal jet, the _Thunderquack_. Once the flash had diminished, Darkwing and Launchpad were met with the bone-chilling sight of black, fiery mushroom cloud, emerging from the very spot where the warehouse once stood at the dock area. They were only a few or so miles from the spot when the explosion occurred, feeling the brief shockwave emitted from it, as the entire structure of the _Thunderquack_ vibrated. A crack had even formed in the cockpit window, alerting Launchpad of the severity in the damage sustained to jet from the explosion.

"Whoa! I'd better land this thing, before we get into _real_ trouble!" The pilot exclaimed, as he pressed forward on the steering mechanism, forcing the _Thunderquack_ to go into a subtle dive towards the nearest rooftop. As soon as it landed there, Darkwing and Launchpad immediately exited the jet that was shaped like Darkwing Duck's head, a design courtesy of the person who built it – that being Launchpad McQuack himself.

Darkwing soon realized that Launchpad had landed them a couple of distances away from the scene of the explosion, feeling the intense heat of the massive fire against his feathered skin. The smoke plaguing the air quickly got to his eyes, covered by the purple mask he wore over them, and left him rubbing them frantically. _Fine spot L.P. picked to land for repairs_, he thought in aggravation.

That's when he heard a whooshing noise come right over him and stopped rubbing his eyes long enough to look up. With all of the smoke tearing him up and blurring his vision, Darkwing could not have been too certain of what he just saw flying across the night sky. But from what he could tell, it appeared to have been a flock of gargoyles…actual, _living_ gargoyles! For a brief moment, his mind was totally off the itchy sensation coming over his eyes; but he was soon rubbing them again, mumbling as he had done so.

"Stupid smoke…messin' with my eyes!"

"Did you say something, D.W.?" asked Launchpad, who was occupied with replacing the cracked cockpit window.

"Nothin', L.P." Darkwing stared at him with reddened, bloodshot eyes and then forced himself to confirm what he had just seen by asking the pilot, "Hey, uh, did you happen to see anything fly through here a little while ago?"

Launchpad looked back at him in confusion, while installing a fresh window from the cargo hold into place. "You mean something _other than_ me?"

Darkwing scratched his head, coughed, and rubbed his left eye, staring back into the night sky and seeing nothing but the smoke from the fire come through it. "I guess I was just seein' things then."

"What did you think you saw, D.W.?"

"Oh, nothing. Just the smoke playing tricks on my eyes, that's all."

"Well, don't worry. I've got everything set up here. We can get goin', while the gettin's good now."

"Right." Darkwing remarked, before he climbed back into the _Thunderquack_ with Launchpad. While the jet gracefully lifted itself from the rooftop, Darkwing looked out into the inferno that the warehouse had become, wondering what the purpose of the evildoers who were responsible for it was…and if he _really_ was seeing things a moment ago.

* * *

Twenty-four Hours Later

The world looked incredibly hazy after a person spent several hours unconscious. It didn't help very much for a white light to be on, shining very bright and masking everything from weak eyes. This caused a sheering pain to register through the cranium, as the eyes were attempting to adjust to the lighting. Only Detective Ciciley Michelle could know what this experience was like, as she awoke from her unconscious state.

There wasn't much that Ciciley remembered before awaking in a hospital bed, connected to a machine that displayed her heart rate and brain activity. She looked down at herself and realized that her street clothes had been replaced with the typical hospital gown. Trying to sit up on the bed, a sharp pain came across the back of her head. To serve her curiosity, she gently reached around to that area and felt a small bandage protecting what she could only presume to be a stitched-up gash. She was thankful that the doctors didn't have to cut off her hair to get the job done.

"Try to take it easy, Cici," she heard a nearby voice tell her. Through her blurred vision, she noticed a tall, talk stranger sitting by her bed. Forcing her eyes to regain focus, she soon realized that the stranger was in fact her cousin.

Taking a deep breath, she said in a hoarse voice, "How many?"

"How many?" He repeated her question in confusion.

"How many stitches did they put into my head?"

"Only seven. The cut wasn't too deep. They say that you were lucky to have landed on the wooden crates and not the steel ones, otherwise you would've suffered a concussion and died."

A grin crept across Ciciley's face upon hearing the odds. "I should've died in there. The guy that attacked me…" She stopped, her mind beginning to recollect lost recent memories. The first image to pop into there was of Detective Navarro aiming a gun at her. "Where is she?"

Sean had to stop and remind himself who she was talking about. When he wasn't able to figure it out, he asked, "Where's who?"

"Navarro." Ciciley answered. "Please tell me we got that tramp."

Her cousin appeared to be very agitated, as he hesitated in answering her question. After a moment or so, he finally told her, "Cici…Elisa's dead."

As much trouble as her mind was having in refocusing on reality, Ciciley could barely even trust her consciousness upon hearing what her cousin just told her. She lightly shook her head and chuckled. "C'mon, now's not the time to kid around, cuz."

"I wish that I were kidding with you, Ciciley." Whenever he would address her by "Ciciley" and not "Cici," she knew he was being dead serious. It was even in his eyes, as both hers and his connected that moment. "She died in the explosion that occurred, right after you made it out of the warehouse."

Ciciley didn't dwell too much on trying to recollect what happened after she was attacked by Detective Navarro's "bodyguard," so she admittedly said, "I don't remember there being any explosion. I don't even remember making it out of the warehouse."

"Well, you didn't make it out on your own." Sean told her. "Someone…or some_thing_…had carried you out…something _big_."

"Something _big_? I'm afraid that's not enough for me to go with, cousin."

"Well, I'm sorry, okay?" He angrily snapped at her. "It was dark, there were gunshots coming out from inside the warehouse, and I wasn't sure you were dead or alive! I'm already having a hard time dealing with so many friends and family dying on me!"

Ciciley stared at him for a moment, seeing the distraught behavior he was displaying then. Just from seeing it, she knew it was more than what occurred the previous night that was troubling him. Feeling concerned, she asked him, "What's wrong, Sean? I've never seen you _this_ ticked off before."

Again, he hesitated with an answer. But he needn't to hesitate any longer, as soon as a slovenly, morbidly obese, mustachioed man wearing a gray vest with a police badge pinned to it, a red tie, a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and a pair of nicely-pressed gray slacks walked into the room. "Uh, Mister Kelley? Your sister is on the phone again. She wants to give ya an update."

"Thanks, Detective Piquel." Sean told the man, right before he hurriedly dashed out of the room.

Seeing him leave the way he had, Ciciley grew more worried of his situation. She looked to the detective in the room and asked, "Hey, Lucky. What's up with my cousin, man?"

"You mean he hasn't told you yet?" Lucky responded.

"No, no one's told me anything." Ciciley said. "I just woke up in this bed, missing whatever occurred within the hours I'd been unconscious. The only thing I know is that Elisa Maza is dead."

Piquel looked very disgruntled hearing that news. "Yeah, Miranda and I heard while on patrol. I can't get the poor kid to stop crying. She and Elisa were good friends during their rookie years, and they rarely ever talked after Elisa moved up to detective, mostly because of all the cases she went on." He then glanced at Ciciley and added, with a suspecting look on his face, "Ya know, Captain Chavez is personally holding _you_ responsible for what happened in that warehouse."

"Me?" Ciciley reacted in offense and confusion. "What about Quackerjack and Negaduck? They were spotted at the scene, with Detectives Navarro and Gonzalez!"

A puzzled expression registered on Piquel's face as he responded to Ciciley's odd information. "What're you talking about? Neither of those characters was spotted at the scene of the crime. When we arrived there, we only found you, lying unconscious in the street, and Elisa's jacket and badge in the charred remains of the warehouse."

Ciciley felt a headache coming on, and it wasn't because of her injury. "Where are Navarro and Gonzalez right now?"

Piquel shrugged. "Nobody knows – not even Captain Chavez. They didn't report in at any time during the day."

"Then that's proof that they were behind the warehouse incident!" Ciciley excitedly exclaimed.

"Calm down, kiddo." Piquel urged her.

"Calm down? You tell me that Captain Chavez has got the whole police force convinced that I was responsible for Elisa Maza's death, and you tell me to calm down?"

"Nobody's saying you were responsible for Elisa being dead, Ciciley." Piquel clarified. "All I'm saying is that you should relax. The last thing we need is for you to stir up trouble right now."

"Well, I'm not the one who's doing all the stirring."

She and Piquel locked eyes for one brief, intense moment and then came the arrival of her cousin, who approached the foot of her bed with reddened eyes and a runny nose that he kept sniffing and wiping with the sleeve of his coat. With a breaking voice, he told Ciciley, "I've got to go back to Metropolis. Will you be okay while I'm gone?"

"Officer Wright and I will take care of her, kid." Piquel told him. "You just go be with your sister and mother."

Sean nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Detective."

As he was on his way out of the room, Ciciley quickly asked him, "Sean, what's going on with Heather and Aunt Alicia?"

He stopped at the doorway and looked back at her with tear-filled eyes. "Our mother is dying, Ciciley."


	11. Chapter 11

**XI**

Metropolis

Heather could barely keep her hands from shaking, as she held the cup of coffee that she got from the cafeteria and sat in the waiting room of the hospital. She had been up for nearly eight hours since receiving the news on her mother's critical condition. From the moment the doctor alerted her of how serious of a case it was, her mind had been racing with many "what if" questions, including what if she hadn't been born out of the very experiment that messed up her mother's DNA and put her in this situation. All she wished at that moment was to have her brother there with her to accompany.

She heard footsteps come into the room and looked up with reddened hopeful eyes. "Sean?"

Unfortunately, it was not whom she expected. It was a young brunette woman in blue clothes and black, high-heeled boots; she had a _Daily Planet_ press badge pinned on her shirt. "No, I'm sorry, Miss Kelley."

Heather glanced closely at the woman – her vision having been slightly tainted from all of the crying she had spent hours doing. "Do I know you?"

"Maybe not," she said. "I've been working at _The Planet_ for only a few months now. There were so many times when I'd wanted to meet you, but I never had the courage to talk with such an amazing reporter." She approached Heather with a friendly smile on her face and extended her hand out to her. "My name's Alexis Embers."

With a brief moment of hesitation, Heather took Alexis's hand and shook it, not knowing sure if this woman was who she claimed to be. She could never remember for sure if she had seen her at _The Planet_; but then again, other than Louise Rogers, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and her childhood friend, Clark Kent, she never interacted with many other employees there. Not wanting to seem unfriendly, she offered to Alexis, "Have a seat."

"Thank you," said Alexis, as she took the seat next to Heather.

"How did you know I was here?" Heather curiously asked.

"Mr. McDuck contacted Perry White at _The Planet_ to let him know that you wouldn't be coming in, due to your mother's condition. Louise Rogers wanted to be here for you, but she was already given an important assignment."

That news surprised and somewhat upset Heather more than she already was, seeing that Louise had always promised her that she would drop everything just to make sure her and her family are doing alright. In disappointment, she remarked, "Guess it must've been pretty damn important."

"She wanted me to tell you that she's _really_ sorry." Alexis informed.

"Yeah, well…sorry ain't helpin' my mother right now."

Alexis glanced heavily into her eyes, seeing the pain and despair that filled them and feeling exactly what she was going through. "I lost _my_ mother not very long ago. It was cancer with her, which was funny, because she never smoked a day in her life. But when she got it, that's when I learned that you didn't have to smoke, just to get cancer. Turned out she got it in her pancreas."

Heather looked at the young reporter, feeling a great deal of pity for her. "I'm really sorry."

Alexis waved off her own family trauma with half of a smile. "I was just graduating college when it happened. While I was walking across the stage to get my diploma, my mother was fighting to stay alive to see me with it." She took a deep breath before she concluded, "The last thing she saw was me in my cap and gown, holding my diploma."

"Oh, man…" Heather muttered with heavy heart. "It would be so awesome if you could go back in time and change everything that led to that day."

"Most people would say that it's just God's way of helping us learn in life…make us stronger people." Alexis fought through tears, just to not make herself look weak in front of the already discouraged Heather. "But, in my opinion, that's a load of crap…because I was already at my strongest before I lost my mother."

Heather saw how hard she was trying not to cry, and she put a hand over her shoulder in comfort. "It's okay. I feel the same way about my mother. She always said I was stronger than anyone she ever knew."

"But don't you feel there's something you can do for her…to stop whatever it is that's causing this pain?"

"Doctor's say there's nothin' that _can_ be done to stop this from happenin', especially now that her blood is all screwed up."

Alexis looked around the waiting room, realizing that no one was there to hear her give some vitally secret information to Heather. "There _is_ a way you can save her, Miss Kelley. But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone what I said."

Heather looked at her for a long time, uncertain of what it was that she was about to tell her. The last thing she needed was to get caught up in illegal activity, while her mother only had a short time to live. But if it meant her life itself, then she would be willing to do anything to ensure her survival from something that she couldn't convince herself that wasn't her fault.

"Alright…I promise."

* * *

Gotham City – A few hours later

Since the moment Sean left the hospital, Ciciley couldn't get to sleep. Her thoughts had been on the condition of her aunt and how Heather and Sean were both taking it. She knew exactly what they were going through, as she lost her own mother – the aunt of Heather and Sean – when she first became a police officer. Unlike her cousins and aunt, the relationship she shared with her own mother was less than a pleasant one; she was always the "wild child" growing up, going against her mother's wishes and being very independent. Looking back on it all, she felt ashamed of how she acted and often wished she could've changed her attitude towards her mother.

Of course, as much as she cared for the health of her aunt, Ciciley's mind was also on the situation that occurred at the warehouse the other night and how her job as detective was on the line from it. The longer she laid there in the hospital bed, with Officers Piquel and Wright guarding the doorway as if she were already a criminal – and not doing a very good job of it, from the way they were both sitting down and fast asleep – the more she feared what would happen once she got well. And judging from the monster headache and extreme pain in her left ankle and right leg, it would be a long time before she wouldn't be so bedridden.

Regardless of all the pain, she felt the need to get out of the hospital and solve the mysterious death of Elisa Maza. Disconnecting herself from the IVs and machines, she slowly started getting up from the bed. Even at the slow pace she was carrying herself, she felt the sharpness of the pain in the back of her head begin to overtake her. Squinting very hard, she did her best to ignore it and continue in her attempt to get out of bed.

Once her feet hit the floor, the pain in the back of her head suddenly switched down to her left ankle and right leg, feeling as if knives were being stuck in them. It was worse than any pain she had ever felt in her entire life, including the bar fight she had before the investigation at the warehouse. As much as she wanted to ignore it, she couldn't help but to withdraw from her feeble attempts and lay back down on the bed. She almost felt like crying – not from the pain itself, but from feeling so useless in her dire situation.

"Looks like you could use another dose of painkillers."

She jumped as soon as she heard the voice address her and looked ahead of her bed to see a powerful, masculine figure standing in the shadows. Extremely alarmed of his presence, Ciciley austerely inquired, "Who the hell are you? What're you doing in my room?"

"Don't be alarmed, Detective." The man answered, as he stepped out from the shadows and revealed himself to be none other than billionaire and founder, owner, and CEO of Xanatos Enterprises, David Xanatos. "I'm just here to offer you a chance for a much speedier recovery."

Needless to say, Ciciley was more than surprised to see such a powerful bigwig like David Xanatos standing in her hospital room, but she was less than pleased as well. Xanatos didn't have much of a good reputation at the Gotham City Police Department, due to the many investigations and arrests conducted upon him, most of which was done by Elisa Maza herself. Having been recently released on parole, Xanatos had become a bigger target for scrutiny ever since; and with him being there in Ciciley's room, she couldn't help but to wonder what scheme he had up his sleeve right then.

"Speedier recovery my butt!" She retorted. "What're you up to this time, you son of a…?"

"Easy, easy!" Xanatos said with a smile and chuckle. "I understand that my reputation precedes me in the G.C.P.D. But you have to understand that I come in peace…especially considering recent events." With another mentioning of Maza's death, Ciciley sighed in despair and allowed Xanatos to speak his mind. "I'm real sorry to hear about Detective Maza, but unlike everyone else, I'm unwilling to believe that she died from that incident the other night."

Ciciley chuckled at the irony. "Well, you ain't the only one, dude. I've got my doubts also, mainly because it's _my_ butt that's being framed for it!"

"I know."

"You do?" She shouldn't have sounded so surprised by that fact, knowing how resourceful of a man he was.

"Of course. You don't think I get around this city without doing my homework, do you?" Ciciley grinned at his response. "I understand that you're a prime suspect in the incident, because you and Maza were there to investigate on Detectives Navarro and Gonzalez in that warehouse…a warehouse that just happens to be owned by _my_ company."

Ciciley rolled her eyes in annoyance of her own absent-mindedness. "Go freakin' figure!"

"So when it boils down to it, _both_ of our butts are being framed for Detective Maza's death. And as much as I want to trust in the judicial system, no alibi is going to help me out of this…that is, unless you're willing to let me assist you in a proper investigation."

A sarcastic laugh emerged from within Ciciley in reaction to Xanatos's offer. "Let me see…I get to work with the most corrupt businessman in Gotham, in order to clear _his_ name and my own of a crime neither of us committed." She then added with every ounce of disrespect she could muster, "I'd rather continue urinating in a bedpan for the next few months! Because as long as every section of my body is wracked with pain, there is no way I'm getting out of this bed, and there is no way I'm gonna help your sorry butt!"

Xanatos remained unfazed from her fiery attitude, one that reminded him all too much of Elisa Maza – but he dared not let her know of that. Instead he continued addressing her in a way that was calm and helpful. "What if I said to you that there _is_ a way to eliminate those few months and get you up and walking around a lot sooner than you hope?"

"Then I have to say that you're a load of crap." The billionaire grinned at her, just as he pulled out a small syringe from the inside of his coat. Ciciley flinched a little when she saw the syringe filled with a red liquid substance and asked him, "What're you doing? What the…?"

Xanatos raised his free hand calmly in protest. "Relax, Detective. Just let me demonstrate to you what I'm offering."

Approaching the foot of her bed, Xanatos held the syringe over Ciciley's right leg. She wanted to move it away from him, but the immense pain within it kept her from doing so. Her only hope of getting him away was calling the nurse; but she couldn't find the device to do so. By the time Xanatos got the needle near her skin, it was too late to have done anything.

Xanatos injected the substance into Ciciley's leg, and she actually felt it coursing through her veins, mixing itself within her bloodstream. She could see the veins popping through the skin of her leg, outlining every inch of it. Within seconds, the pain that plagued it had subsided, and she could move it without any difficult. What just happened was more than a miracle to her, and she refused to accept it as such, because the man behind it always had an objective to it.

"What did you just do to me?" She asked him, trying not to appear more surprised than she already had been from the event.

He held up the emptied syringe with a smile. "This is a formula that science has been studying for thirty-one years, and only recently have researchers found a way to cure people of just about every injury or disease you can imagine. The small portion I've injected you with has eliminated at least two months of recovery time for you. Larger dosages will cure you completely, and you'll be back on your feet to work on clearing your name before you know it." He then added with that amoral attitude that most in the G.C.P.D. were all too familiar with, "That is, _if_ you're willing to take my offer in clearing _both_ of our names."

Ciciley hated to admit when she was caught in a corner that she couldn't get out from, but Xanatos had her right where he wanted. She'd been having the intense urge to do whatever was necessary in keeping her job since finding out about the death of Elisa Maza. And with Xanatos offering her a chance in doing so, through this "miracle drug" of his, she had no other choice but to accept his offer. She only feared in doing so for what price it would come with.

"Alright, Xanatos…you've got a deal."


	12. Chapter 12

**XII**

A yellow taxicab had pulled right in front of a classy McMansion in a suburban area outside of Metropolis. Its passenger was none other than Sean Kelley, whom had just arrived from a visit to the hospital that his mother was being cared in and discovered that his sister returned home for reasons inexplicable to him. He was impressed by the residence that his mother and sister had been keeping since the employment of Scrooge McDuck; it was a much well-suited atmosphere to take up than the apartment complex they used to live in. And it was twice as more impressive than the crowded apartment he was currently sharing with Ciciley in Gotham.

While hopping out of the taxicab, he instructed the driver to wait for him and even allowed for him to "keep the meter running" if he had chosen to do so. He wanted to make this visit to Heather as brief as possible, because he wanted to get back to his mother…and he didn't want to be influenced by negative personal feelings while interacting with his sister. It was already making him feel uncomfortable seeing how much McDuck was financially putting into her lifestyle.

Moving up the steps to the front door, he gave a quick, heavy series of knocks and waited for an answer. After a brief moment, he heard the door unlocking and being opened by Heather herself. She stood there, staring at him in wide-eyed surprise and wearing a black silky robe that went down to above her knees. Neither of them said a word for a few seconds, until Heather reached out and gave her brother a tight hug. Sean nearly felt his air being cut off from the hug she was giving him.

"I've missed you so much, baby bro!" She exclaimed.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation from her addressing him the way she did when he was a kid. As much as he wanted to tell her that he wasn't that kid she knew years ago, he allowed her to have her moment of reminiscing, especially with all that had happened in the past hours. With all the love she was giving him in that hug, the only bit he returned was a small pat on her back and an emotionless response. "Nice to see you, too."

Heather almost felt like crying, while Sean almost felt like passing out from his lack of air. After some time had passed, Heather eventually let him go and allowed him to breathe. Smiling, she motioned for him to enter while saying, "There's lots we gotta talk about. Get on in here."

"No, I can't stay for very long," he said, gesturing to the waiting taxicab behind him. "I need to get back to the hospital and be with Mama."

"Nonsense!" Heather giddily remarked. "I'm headin' back into the city anyways to meet with Scrooge McDuck. I give ya a li…"

"I said I can't, Heather!" Sean retorted, raising his voice in a way that made it clear to Heather that he was upset – whether it was at her or over the condition of their mother, she wasn't quite sure. "I went by the hospital earlier thinking you were there, and they tell me that you went back home, without even waiting for me to get there. Why would you live Mama there alone and not even wait for me?"

A mask of shame covered Heather's face, as she looked down towards the floor. Her eyes soon returned back to her brother, as she once again offered for him to enter. "Could you come in and join me upstairs, just for a little while? I'll explain everything while I'm gettin' dressed."

Sean reluctantly entered the mansion and followed Heather upstairs to her bedroom. Along the way, he looked around at the classy interior of the home, which looked a lot bigger than the outside. Judging from the fine antique pieces of furniture, the freshly painted walls, and the well-laid out marbled floors, it was no doubt how most of everything in the home was financed by Scrooge McDuck. It was the home of a billionaire; but Heather was far from acting like one, seeing that the upper-class lifestyle hadn't changed her "country girl" personality.

Entering the bedroom of Heather's new home, Sean found things to be just as fabulous in appearance as there were in the rest of the house. Her bed was entirely made out of foam, as opposed to the hard, springy mattress from their old apartment, and situated right across from a fifty-inch plasma television set. The walls were painted in a mixture of red and blue colors, and there was a closet large enough to suit up to sixty different clothes. Out of all the clothes she had, she only picked out a pair of jean shorts, red tank top, and short denim jacket to wear out for the day.

Right across from the closet was a six-foot tall standing mirror, which was a pretty bad place for Heather to set it, if she wanted privacy while getting dressed in the closet. Just from standing at the doorway that was adjacent to the closet, Sean could practically see her getting dressed through her reflection in the mirror. But while doing so, he noticed something that he never had before: **on the lower part of her back was the birthmark of a diamond-shaped shield with an "S" in it**. At least he believed it to have been a birthmark at first, considering that it looked very close to a tattoo of some sort.

Sean didn't say anything about it, as she was coming out of the closet and approaching a dresser that she pulled out a pair of red leather boots. While putting them on, Heather told him, "I didn't want to leave Mama there alone. But the reason I did was because I found a way to save her life."

She instantly caught his attention from mentioning this. "How?"

"Have you ever met this woman named Alexis Embers?" She allowed him to take a moment to process the name, and when he shook his head in response, she continued, "Well, she told me a lot about the people who were involved in the program that created me. Most of them are still alive and well, including the man who funded it all…Lex Luthor."

A bone-chilling sensation came over Sean upon hearing that name. "Luthor? He funded the program?"

"Well, his father did actually," clarified Heather. "But when he was old enough to take over the family business, Luthor didn't waste any more time on financial backing and shut it down. But Alexis told me that some old products from the program are still kept in storage, with a lot of scientists who were involved still testing some blood samples out." As soon as she got her boots on, she approached her brother and fervently told him, "One of those samples can reverse the condition that Mama's in and spare her life."

"And you're willing to go to Lex Luthor of all people just to get it?" Sean asked with a sense of doubt. "Heather, you're making a deal with the devil and don't even know it!"

"Wouldn't you go to great lengths just to save her? Especially if you knew you were the reason for her dying?"

"Is that what this is all about? You were _not_ the cause of her death!"

"Then what else is there wrong with her, Sean? The doctors say it's not cancer. She's been tested several times for heart disease. And she's _never_ had a history of diabetes! What else could possibly explain her dying?"

"I'm just saying – don't put too much blame on yourself."

"That's easy for you to say! You're never around to watch her fall apart like she's been these past years!"

Just from that remark alone, he could see this conversation taking quite a negative turn again. Luckily, a brief series of honks from outside the house broke up the interaction between them. Heather moved to the window and looked out to see Scrooge McDuck's fancy car – driven by Duckworth, as usual – stopped right behind the waiting taxicab that Sean came in. "It's Duckworth. He's here to take me to see McDuck." Turning away from the window, she addressed her brother once more, "Look, Sean, I'm sorry that I…"

But he was gone – deciding not to take anymore drama for one day. She turned back to the window and saw him going into the taxicab, which soon pulled away from the house afterward. Letting out a deep sigh, she could imagine how much pain he was going through, between what was happening with their mother and the worsening relationship between themselves. She only prayed that things would get better, as soon as she found a way to achieve the special objective that had been placed upon her by the _Daily Planet_ reporter named Alexis Embers.

* * *

After a series of injections of Xanatos's "special formula" to her bruised and cut face, sliced and stitched right hand, and sprained ankle, Ciciley was clinically declared to be healed by the perplexed and stunned doctors of the hospital. They were certain that it would be months before she would be able to even walk again; but while seeing her leave the hospital on her own two feet and without the need of a wheelchair, they were simply beyond confused. Ciciley practically felt like a new woman from the bizarre treatment she went through from Xanatos's own personal medical doctors. These doctors knew just the right veins in her body to inject the formula into, in order for it to properly circulate through her wounds and heal them in impressive fashion.

Leaving the hospital, she was confronted by Xanatos's aide, Owen Burnett, who arrived in a long, black limousine that was sent by none other than David Xanatos himself. "Mr. Xanatos would like to meet with you at the Eyrie Building. He wishes to discuss the matter involving you and the death of Elisa Maza."

"Tell _Mister_ Xanatos that I've decided that I'll no longer need his 'services' to clear my name of this mess." Ciciley sneered. "I can find my own way of dealing with this, and I don't need some corporate bigwig saving my butt."

"I'm afraid that I'll have to insist, Detective Michelle."

Before she could've asked what he planned on doing if she refused, she felt a deep pitch on the right side of her neck. When her vision began to go hazy, she could barely make out the device built with a syringe that he used to inject her with some sort of "knockout serum." Her legs began to feel numb, and she was just about on the verge of falling over towards the ground. But she was caught just in time by Owen and placed into the back of the limousine. Her last visage was of Owen joining her in the limousine and saying, "Just relax, Detective. You will be awake again momentarily."

* * *

It was unknown to Ciciley just how much time she spent being unconscious from the serum that was injected into her. By the time she regained consciousness, she found herself seated in freshly-scented, perfectly-decorated room that had a large window showing much of the east side of Gotham City at forty-five feet above the other skyscrapers. Looking through the window with her readjusting eyes, she could tell that it's been some time since she had been out of it, with the evening sky approaching and sunset taking place. Right in front of the majestic sight, seated at his fancy desk, was the grinning David Xanatos.

"Hello, Detective," he said. "I would say 'Good morning,' but it's actually six minutes before dusk. So…Good evening."

Ciciley felt extremely groggy, as if she were back in the condition that she was in at the hospital hours ago. "You cure me, just so you can make me feel like crap all over again?"

"You didn't give us much of a choice." Xanatos innocently stated. "We're involved in your situation more than you can imagine. So regardless of whether or not you need our help, we're in the same boat…and I'm controlling the paddle."

"Cute metaphor," she remarked. "So what is it that you need from me? I'm useless right now. I've got no friends, no police backup, and no alibi. I might as well be a fugitive from justice right now."

Xanatos's grin increased in size. "Your weaknesses are your strengths, Detective. Without friends, police, and alibis, you can easily get by in clearing your name from Maza's death." He leaned back comfortably in his chair and inquired, "Do you believe in magic?"

Ciciley had to make certain she wasn't still under the influence of the serum, before responding to his inquiry with confusion. "Say what?"

"I'm not referring to the usual sword and sorcery material, like King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone; but _real_ magic, such as the Phoenix Gate or Oberon's Children."

She took a moment to process the nonsense he was asking her about and then chuckled up a reply. "Do I look like the type of woman who spends her nights playing _World of Warcraft_, Xanatos?"

"It's a simple 'yes or no' question, Detective." Xanatos remarked. "No reason to feel shy about it."

Taking his smug comment as a challenge, she answered as seriously as she could, "No…I don't."

"Detective Maza did," he said. "Of course, at first, she didn't believe a bit of it. But after she met some _special_ 'friends' of mine, she became a true believer instantly."

Ciciley sighed in aggravation. "Is there a point to all of this?"

"I suppose you'll just have to see for yourself." Xanatos reached forward and grabbed a remote control off from his desk, pointing it to a plasma television set located nearby in a built-in entertainment system in the left side of his office. Switching on the set, the first image that popped on the screen was surveillance footage of a section of the centuries-old Scottish castle that was reconstructed atop his skyscraper. In this footage was nothing except for six stone gargoyles perched at the edge.

Ciciley watched the footage with increasing confusion. "This is your visual aid? I would expect better showmanship for a 'great' businessman like yourself, Xanatos."

The grin on Xanatos's face never left. "It gets better, Detective. Watch."

She shook her head in disgust and kept her eyes on the screen, as the footage showed the scene going from sunset to night in a matter of seconds. After the darkness settled in, the camera automatically switched to night vision, still keeping its angle on the gargoyle statues. Before Ciciley could even process what was happening, she suddenly began to notice that the gargoyles appeared to have been moving on their own, with their stone exteriors busting apart and exposing living flesh underneath. Her jaw dropped immediately and her blue eyes widened in awe; but it suddenly dawned on her what Xanatos was _really_ doing to her that moment.

"You expect me to believe this post-production bullcrap?" She angrily asked him. "It's obvious that you and your little editing crew from Pack Media Studios 'Photoshopped' this mess, just to convince me of something – whatever it is!"

"I promise you that this isn't tampered footage, Detective. Look out the window behind me." She done as he said and noticed how it was currently nightfall, just as it was in the footage being shown to her. "What you're seeing is _live_ footage from my surveillance camera upstairs. The creatures you're watching are very much alive, and they will be joining us here in a few seconds."

Ciciley scoffed, not convinced whatsoever. "Whatever, jackass. I'm clearly wasting my time here. But I gotta admit one thing – you really had me going for a moment, making me think you were going to help me clear my name. It just turns out that you're trying to cover your own butt over something. And whatever it is, I hope it bites you down there in a _big_ way."

As she turned to leave his office, she was met with the startling sight of a pair of glowing white eyes in the shadows. They were so high up that Ciciley had to be at least five feet taller just to be on the exact eye level with them. Backing away slowly, the glowing pair of eyes was soon accompanied by five others, each of them at different lengths. Their owners stepped out into the lights that were switched on by Xanatos from his desk, revealing them to have been the same living, breathing gargoyles that Ciciley watched come alive just a moment ago.

The biggest one had pale blue-gray skin and long dark brown hair. At the moment he stepped into the lights, his eyes refrained from glowing and revealed to be close to human. "Greetings, human," he spoke to Ciciley with a deep, powerful voice. "My name is Goliath. I was a friend of Elisa Maza's."

Ciciley could barely say a word from being in such great shock. Never in her whole life had she seen such magnificent creatures, which she always believed to have been nothing more than stone. She would've fainted at that moment, if she hadn't already grown weary from the recent injection of the "knockout serum." But it was bravery that kept her upright long enough to admire the sight of the six winged creatures before her, as she experienced enough surprises in her line of work to prepare her for anything as big as this.

"You wanted friends, Detective? These are the closest ones you can get." Xanatos said. "Goliath, Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, and Bronx are just the backup you need to get the alibi you're looking for in clearing your name of Maza's death."

She looked back at Xanatos, seeing the grin that never left his face. If this was his master plan, then she admitted to it being quite unpredictable. "You drive a hard bargain, Xanatos. A _very_ hard bargain."


	13. Chapter 13

**XIII**

"I cannot believe you are asking me to do such an immoral thing!" McDuck exclaimed in a mixture of shock, anger, and confusion. "You want me to arrange a meeting between you and Lex Luthor over something that might or might not be the truth!"

Heather sulked over McDuck's doubting attitude while riding in the backseat of his car; their dinner date started off as pleasant but transformed into quite a debacle from then to the ride back to the McDuck estate. "I got this information from a reliable source, Mr. McDuck."

"Who?" McDuck demandingly asked. "Ya have to tell me, otherwise I cannot agree to this crazy request of yours!"

"I can't say, because I made a promise not to tell anyone about what I've been told."

"But you're telling _me_!"

"Yes, because I know you and Luthor have some connections."

"We _had_ some connections. I haven't talked to that no-good lowlife ever since he started working with Flintheart Glomgold, who is exactly the reason why I refuse to let you see him in person."

Heather's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull from this news. "Glomgold is workin' with Luthor?"

"Aye. I found out earlier today that they signed a deal, and as soon as I did, I cut off whatever 'connections' Luthor and I have had in the past. If Luthor finds out about you and your abilities, then it's over for us all. I'll have no choice but to sell to Glomgold."

"Sell what?" Heather asked. "What does he want from you?"

McDuck sighed. "He wants the Gizmoduck technology…and you."

"Me?" Heather couldn't help but to feel heavily offended by this. "I'm not some slave to be bargained for! Just because I carry powers beyond human comprehension doesn't mean I'm the most valuable item on the list!"

Scrooge tried to refrain from grinning over how upset she sounded. "Now you know how I felt that night he came to my house." When she looked at him with the furious look on her face, he dropped his grin and got serious. "Glomgold won't stop until he has everything that I own, whether it's my money or employees. And if he's working with Luthor, then it's best for us not to get involved with either of them."

"But those scientists got what I need to save my mother's life. There's got to be a way around Luthor and Glomgold in order to get it."

McDuck was silent; he pondered for a moment, trying to search in his mind for an idea. Once he finally thought of one, he bashfully told Heather, "There is one way. But you have to promise me that you won't think I'm crazy or having a nervous breakdown."

Heather glanced at him with bewilderment. "Uh…okay. What is it?"

Rather than telling her straight out, he rolled down the window between them and the front of the car where Duckworth was focused on driving, and he ordered, "Duckworth, take us to the Metropolis Park."

"Right away, sir." Duckworth acknowledged.

* * *

Heather did her best to try not to laugh at what she was seeing, because she was on a serious mission and willing to accept whatever possible help in accomplishing it. But what Scrooge was showing her that moment was hard to comprehend, especially when it was coming from the richest duck from Duckburg. Stifling a giggle, she asked him, "What…What is _this_?"

Scrooge could hear the giggles coming out between her words and got a little upset. He pointed to the large oak tree that they were standing in front of and answered, "This is the headquarters for the…"

"Rescue Rangers – yeah, I got that," clarified the nearly hysterical Heather. "But…ha, ha…what're they? Elves?" That one remark was what broke her down into a series of chuckles, angering McDuck further.

"BLAST! I knew I shouldn't have brought you here! You people can believe a billionaire duck, but you refuse to accept a detective agency of chipmunks and mice?"

Heather settled herself down long enough to calm her boss down. "No, sir. It's just that…I can't see how these 'Rescue Rangers' will help in gettin' around the likes of Flintheart Glomgold and Lex Luthor. Don't you have any, you know, _bigger_ connections?"

"The Rescue Rangers are the only connections I know for gettin' through Luthor and Glomgold. Now do you want their help or do you want to continue pussyfooting around?"

She sighed in despair, doubting the effectiveness of this plan, and calmly said, "Alright, fine. Go ahead and…do your thing – whatever it is."

McDuck focused on the top of the tree and let out a long, loud whistle. They waited for at least thirty seconds, before a chipmunk with a red nose and wearing a red and yellow Hawaiian shirt stuck his head out through the lush, green leaves of the tree. "Duh, can I help ya?"

"Don't ya recognize me, lad?" McDuck remarked. "I came to see you and your friends not very long ago. My name is Scrooge McDuck."

The chipmunk took one long glance at McDuck and answered, "Never heard of ya before my whole life."

McDuck gritted his teeth in frustration, while Heather stood by and refrained from busting out in laughter again. Meanwhile, another chipmunk – this one wearing a fedora and bomber jacket with a small brown nose that looked like a chocolate chip – poked his head out from the leaves and addressed the other. "Who're you talking to, Dale?" The chipmunk looked down and, seeing Heather there, he excitedly exclaimed, "Hey, we know you!"

"You do?" Heather remarked, surprise masked over her face.

"We do?" The chipmunk known as "Dale" looked to his friend and said, having the same expression on his face.

"Sure we do, Dale. Remember the tree we used to live in back in Smallville? She was the girl who could run _really_ fast!"

Heather's face looked a little flustered – even though they were just chipmunks in a tree, she wondered since that very day if anyone besides her own brother might've seen her move faster than anything on Earth. "You guys saw that?"

"We sure did." The black-nosed chipmunk told her. "Just as soon after you crashed into our tree."

A look of realization came across Dale's face. "Oh, yeah! Now I remember, Chip! Boy, that was one weird day."

"We could certainly use a _special_ person like you on our team." Chip said.

Heather bashfully chuckled. "Well, I don't think I would be able to meet the 'height requirement'…but thanks for the thought."

"We need your help, lads." McDuck addressed the chipmunks. "We're looking for someone who can help us on a special mission we're on."

"Well, ya came to the right folks!" Dale said with much zeal. "'Cause the Rescue Rangers can find anyone at anyplace at anytime!"

"That's right, Dale." Chip acknowledged. "So who have you got for us to search for?"

"Mr. Incredible," said Scrooge, much to the surprise of Heather and the two chipmunks in the tree.

After exchanging a quick, stunned glance, Chip and Dale gave a hurried, almost panicky response…

"Duh, sorry!"

"Can't help you!"

"Have a nice day!"

Watching them as they popped back into the tree, Scrooge McDuck grew very offended and began swinging his cane against the base of the tree in frustration. "Come back here, you little con artists!"

"Mr. Incredible?" Heather said with a strange look. "That's your plan for gettin' through Luthor and Glomgold?"

Between swings, Scrooge informed her, "He was formerly a bodyguard for the Luthor family and often was involved in their projects. I thought you knew of that!"

"I knew he was a hero to many people," said Heather, "but a _bodyguard_? That one went over my head when I was little."

"It had to have been close to the time you were born, but Mr. Incredible saved Lionel Luthor, the father of Lex Luthor, from a suicide attempt shortly before he foiled a bombing at LuthorCorp by Bomb Voyage. As a way of paying him back, Luthor hired Mr. Incredible for the job as bodyguard."

As McDuck was giving her the history, Heather processed all of it the best way she could. "So…Mr. Incredible is our only connection to finding what we need to save my mother." She grinned and sighed as she added in sarcasm, "Well, that's perfect…especially seeing that he's been in seclusion for _sixteen_ years!"

"Which is why I need the vermin up in this tree to find him!" Scrooge yelled in aggravation, just before he swung his cane a few more times against the tree.

Then, out of nowhere, a different head popped out of the tree – this one being a mouse with a bright red mustache and wearing an aviator's cap. "'Ey, knock off all that clubbin', mate! There are people tryin' to sleep up 'ere!" The mouse spoke in a very thick Australian accent as he addressed the two.

"I'll stop…as soon as you accept my case!" Scrooge demanded.

The heads of Chip and Dale popped back out, as well as a third and fourth in the form of a tiny green housefly and a young female mouse with a pair of goggles over her head. "We can't help you find Mr. Incredible," admitted Chip.

"You can't or you _won't_!" Scrooge retorted.

"Dum, all of the above?" Dale answered, which was followed by a bonk on the head by his friend, Chip.

"Mister Incredible? Golly!" The young female mouse uttered. "No one's seen him for sixteen years! Not even we could possibly find him!"

"Exactly, Gadget," Chip told her. "That's exactly the reason we can't accept this case. Mr. Incredible is just too hard to find nowadays."

The tiny green housefly then buzzed a statement that only the Australian mouse could translate for everyone else. "What's that, Zipper? Ya say that you saw 'im!"

"How did you know it was him, Zipper?" Gadget inquired.

Zipper, the tiny green housefly, flew out from the leaves and began mimicking certain actions with his small body. He pretended as if he was driving a car and lifting something very heavy, all while continuing to buzz an explanation to his fellow Rangers. "You saw him lift up a car with his bare hands?" Chip exclaimed.

"Yep, that's 'im, alright." The Australian mouse confirmed.

"Unless it's some other strong guy, like Superman." Dale assumed.

"Dale, why would Superman drive a car when he can fly?" Chip asked.

"Duh, I dunno. To get to the other side, maybe?"

While Chip rolled his eyes over the dimwittedness of his best friend, Scrooge tried to keep the topic back on track. "Is that tiny fly sayin' that he can find Mr. Incredible for us?" Zipper buzzed an unintelligible answer; but when McDuck saw him nod, it was good enough translation for him. "Oh, good! Now we're finally gettin' somewhere here!"

Regardless of the odd direction their mission was going, Heather felt relieved to know that progress was being established.

"Whoa! This is so cool! We're actually investigating a _real_ crime scene, without permission from the police!"

While inspecting the charred ruins of the demolished warehouse with his magnifying glass, Darkwing Duck desperately tried to compose himself from blowing up at his adopted daughter, Gosalyn Mallard. However, after thirty straight minutes of nothing more than "geeking out," he turned to her and said, "You know what would _really_ make this investigation fun?"

"What, Dad? What?"

"IF NOBODY TALKS DURING IT!"

"Sheesh…okay…excuse me for havin' some fun!"

"This isn't supposed to be 'fun', Gosalyn. An innocent police officer was killed here, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

Accompanying Darkwing and Gosalyn at the scene were Launchpad McQuack and Gosalyn's best friend and next door neighbor of the Mallards, Honker Muddlefoot, who were mostly there for support and to be an extra pair of eyes for Darkwing. The both of them didn't share Gosalyn's enthusiasm of being there, as the atmosphere felt very brooding and unsafe. It seemed as if the air around that very spot was toxic, because the smoke still seeping from the charred remains smelled unusual, like melted metal combined with burnt rubber. Of course, if that were the situation, then the city would've made sure to keep a dome or shield over the area to keep it from plaguing the rest of Gotham.

"Uh, D.W., ya really think we should be out here in the middle of the night like this?" Launchpad inquired. "All that police crossing tape around the spot sure did seem pretty cautious."

"L.P., just relax." Darkwing said. "We're doing the police force of Gotham City a _huge_ favor by coming here to investigate. Besides, the 'Dork Knight' would probably be doing just the same, if he weren't too busy making shadow puppets."

"I don't think the 'Dork Knight' would be all too pleased to hear you talking behind his back like that, Darkwing."

The voice wasn't spoken by anyone within their party; it came from directly behind them. When they turned around to see who it was, their sights were set upon a young woman with black hair and purple highlights at the front. Unbeknownst to them, she was Ciciley Michelle of the Gotham City police department. Of course, they knew she was a police officer, mostly from the badge that was clipped over the waist of her jeans.

"Uh…there's a perfect explanation why we're here, officer." Launchpad nervously said.

Darkwing, on the other hand, waved off Ciciley's presence without a second thought. "Don't bother, L.P. She's probably one of those 'dirty cops' who thinks she can intimidate us through blackmail."

"Nope. I'm just a simple, troubled detective out to clear her name of a crime she didn't commit." Ciciley clarified.

Gosalyn let her curiosity get the best of her. "What crime did you commit?"

"Oh, please, Gosalyn. Don't encourage her." Darkwing pleaded.

Ciciley simply ignored the self-proclaimed "vigilante" and focused on answering Gosalyn's question. "Well, the night that this warehouse exploded, I was inside of it, handling a personal case that involved a couple of 'dirty cops' like your father here mentioned."

Darkwing reacted in surprise over how well she deduced the relationship between himself and Gosalyn. But he still tried to cover it up by acting dumb and telling the detective, "What? That's silly! This girl isn't my daughter! I've never seen her before in my whole life!"

"You just addressed her by her first name a second ago." Ciciley indicated.

He stammered on a response. "Duh…um…l-lucky guess?"

Rolling her eyes in disgust, Ciciley continued, "Anyway…I was working on the case with Elisa Maza, the woman who died in this explosion, and now the entire precinct is accusing me of her death. My only hope is to find any clues that would clear my name."

"So…you're like a fugitive right now?" Launchpad inquired.

"Man! That is _so_ cool!" Gosalyn exclaimed.

Ciciley chuckled at her excitement. "I wish I shared your enthusiasm, kiddo. But it's not so much fun on the other side, if you know what I mean."

"So, uh, you're _not_ here to arrest us for trespassing?" Honker worriedly asked her.

"No, sweetheart, I'm just here to…"

She stopped as soon as something far behind Darkwing and his crew caught her attention. Walking around them, she headed towards a spot that was covered in rubble, which she moved aside to reveal a section of the ground that seemed a lot bulgier than the rest. As he watched her uncover something that represented a clue, Darkwing angrily said, "Hey! You're meddling into _our_ crime scene!"

"Yeah, well, it was _mine_ long before it turned into yours." Ciciley contradicted.

Launchpad chuckled at her remark. "She's got ya there, D.W."

"Oh, shut up," grumbled Darkwing.

Ciciley brushed off several bits of dirt and debris before she reached what appeared to have been a large steel hatch door that could only be opened from the other side. It had been closed shut, which prevented her from being able to pry it open with her bare hands. After taking a moment to analyze it closely, she reached into her left jeans pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie. Darkwing and his friends were a little surprised to see her with it, considering all that she had just revealed to them about being a fugitive from the law.

"Goliath," she said into the device, "I found something here. It looks like some kind of door to a hatch. I'm gonna need you to…"

"It must wait!" Goliath's heavy, empowering voice came over the walkie-talkie. "Lexington just contacted me from the castle! It is under attack!"

A wave of anxiety came over Ciciley as she heard this news. She glanced over at Darkwing and his crew, seeing the strange yet intriguing aircraft that they arrived in parked a distance away from the crime scene – right in the middle of the street of all places. Realizing that it would take too much time for Goliath to pick her up and take her back to the castle, she instructed the gargoyle, "Alright, go ahead and get back there. I'll catch up with you."

"Very well, but hurry." Goliath demanded.

Shutting off the walkie-talkie, Ciciley approached Darkwing and asked, "You have to take me up in your duck-plane-thing. There's somewhere I've got to be right away."

"Sure thing." Launchpad acknowledged.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold on!" Darkwing retorted. "First off, it's not a 'duck-plane-thing'! It's called the _Thunderquack_, and we are _not_ taking you _anywhere_ in it!"

In great frustration, Ciciley instinctively pulled out her gun and pointed it directly at the head of Darkwing Duck. "Oh, yeah? How 'bout now?"

Staring down at the barrel of her weapon, Darkwing inquired with a somewhat shaky voice, "How far you've got to go?"


	14. Chapter 14

**XIV**

Dale must have had a mind like a steel trap – which was saying quite a bit in his case – because he led his fellow Rescue Rangers and their new friends, Scrooge McDuck and Heather Kelley, straight to the home of Bob Parr (a.k.a. "Mr. Incredible"). While the pint-sized heroes were flying in their makeshift aircraft known as "The Ranger Plane," Scrooge and Heather continued riding in style through McDuck's fancy car. During the ride to Parr's home, Heather was on the phone with Fenton Crackshell, who voiced his displeasure in not being able to accompany them in their conversation.

"There's no need, Fenton." Heather assured. "We're just goin' by Mr. Incredible's home and gettin' some answers on how to obtain what we need to save my mother."

She heard him sigh in despair over the phone. "Alright…whatever you say, Heather. I just…I just feel so darn helpless right now."

"Aww!" She felt genuinely bad for him, so she came up with a helpful task right off the top of her head for him to do. "Well, how 'bout this? Get in touch with Clark Kent at _The Daily Planet_ and go to the hospital to check in with my brother. Have Clark take him to the best hotel in Metropolis, so _you_ can watch over my mother for a while? Cool?"

"Really? That's great!" Fenton gleefully said. "But, uh, wouldn't your brother be more satisfied staying at that nice house of yours?"

Heather sighed in disappointment. "No, I don't think he would, Fenton." She suddenly felt the car come to a halt and looked out the window to see how they were right in front of Bob Parr's home. The Ranger Plane was perched atop the roof of the house, signifying that it was in fact where their "mystery man" lived. "Okay, Fenton. We're here. Call me back as soon as you guys get to the hospital, alright?"

"Sure thing, Heather."

Hanging up the phone, she followed Scrooge McDuck out of his car and headed towards the front door of Bob Parr's home. "He's gonna be confused over our visit. What're we gonna tell him?"

"Let's just be honest." Scrooge suggested. "He knows and we know what involved he had an involvement in their very project that resulted in your creation – so, as far as I'm concerned, there are _no_ secrets here."

Heather nodded in agreement with that sentiment of Scrooge's. As soon as they arrived at the front door, Heather braved herself to be the one to knock. Waiting for someone to come and answer, she looked above to see the Rescue Rangers peeking over the edge of the roof to see what was going on. She figured that this would be their only way of getting in on the action, as their presence within the house would be too alarming for the person living there.

After a brief moment, the door finally opened. However, the person who answered it wasn't Bob Parr; it was his wife, Helen. At the moment of Scrooge and Heather's arrival, she was carrying her infant son, Jack-Jack. Her appearance within Bob Parr's home surprised Heather, Scrooge, and the Rangers, as none of them had any recollection of Bob Parr even being married or having a son.

"Who is it, Mom?"

Scratch that – _two_ sons.

"Oh, my god! Don't tell me it's Tony!"

And a daughter?

"Tony doesn't even know that you exist, butt-brain!"

"_Shut up_, Dash! This is none of your business!"

"Then stop announcing it to the whole house, Violet!"

Helen groaned over the bickering amongst her two older children. "If I have to come back there, it's not gonna be pretty at all! SO PIPE DOWN!"

The house immediately fell silent again, after Helen gave her harsh warning. It was quite a surreal scene for the group standing outside, witnessing it all in front of them. For a second, Heather wondered if they were even at the right house…if Dale had made a total mistake in his discovery. It just couldn't be possible that the world's most legendary superhero had such a crazy life after retirement. _I guess we all hit rock bottom once in a while_, Heather imagined.

"I am _really_ sorry you had to hear all of that," said Helen, leaving the front door halfway closed behind her, so that neither Dash nor Violet would hear of their conversation. "May I help you?"

Heather blinked a few times, almost forgetting what they came there for. Finally, she blurted out, "Mrs. Incredi…I mean, Mrs. _Parr_…we've come to talk with your husband, Bob."

Helen looked a little concerned, glancing between both Heather and Scrooge. "I-Is he in some sort of trouble?"

"No, not at all." Heather clarified. "We just…we need to speak with him about some information we obtained about his life before his retirement as Mr. Incredible."

Her concern look then melted into one of irritation. "Are you people with N.S.A.?"

The puzzled expression on Heather's face was enough of an answer, if not her response and the way she answered, "N.S.A.?"

"National Supers Agency." Helen said. "And if you have no idea what that is, then that pretty much eliminates any possibility of either of you having affiliation with them, the F.B.I., C.I.A., D.I.A., I.N.R., D.H.S., M.I.C., K.E.Y…." In the midst of all the acronyms, she could've sworn she heard a small voice spell out the word "mouse," followed by a low _bonking_ sound. "…or any other organizations that are spelled with less than four letters. So if you both don't mind, show yourself off my property, before I have the P.O.L.I.C.E. escort you off it."

Following on that warning, she shut the door right in their disgruntled faces. They glanced up at the Rescue Rangers, who looked to be just as disappointed as they did. "Well, that certainly could've gone better," said Chip, whom Heather couldn't have agreed more with.

Right then, the sound of a car pulling up to the driveway caught their attention. They turned and shielded their eyes from the bright headlights of a sleek black vehicle, driven by Bob Parr – Mr. Incredible himself. Heather's face lightened up with excitement upon seeing her childhood hero exit the sporty car and looking to be still in decent shape for a man his age. As he approached his home, he stopped in his tracks upon noticing Heather and Scrooge there; needless to say, it was quite a surprise.

"May I help you?" He asked.

Heather just about froze when she watched him walk up to her, feeling as if she were caught in a dream that she had since she was a child. Of course, reality soon struck, as soon as she heard Scrooge McDuck clearing his throat, signaling for her to address her childhood hero. Snapping out of her trance, she stammered a reply, "Duh…um…M-Mr. I-Incredible…it…it is a real honor to meet you, s-sir."

It had been so long since he heard someone address by his superhero name that he was nearly spellbound by it. With a cautious glance, he asked Heather, "Have we…met before?"

Heather wanted to tell him that they did, although it was just through the news broadcasts she watched as a girl. She wanted to tell him how huge of an inspiration he was to her and all the good she had done with her special abilities. She wanted to show him just how super she was like him. She wanted to do it all that very second.

But then a surprise occurred…

_BOOM!_

Bob Parr's sporty car suddenly erupted in flames right near them. The heat from the explosion came their way like an open oven. After shielding their bodies from it, they looked to see the extreme damage that was caused to it. No way would it ever be driven again at the amount of fire that consumed it.

"MY CAR!" Bob screamed.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any time to grieve over his loss, as he and the others discovered a tall, muscular man dressed in all black clothing, complete with a ski mask, standing right on his lawn. His eyes were glowing eerily in a red hue and were darted directly toward Bob, Heather, and Scrooge. Heather had seen eyes like those before; it was the same effect hers had when she unleashed her "heat vision." Immediately, she forced Scrooge, Bob, and herself to duck down, as a blast of extremely hot energy escaped his corneas and struck the front window of Bob Parr's home.

From inside, Helen and the kids could hear the shattering glass and instantly became alarmed. Violet and Dash screamed and Jack-Jack cried, while Helen set her infant son down in his chair and went to the damaged window. She could see her husband and the two visitors crouching down on the porch, but her focus then shifted to the darkly clad stranger on their lawn, as well as the black van that pulled up in front of their house.

"Bob?" She frantically exclaimed.

Hearing her voice, he stood up straight and acknowledged her presence, which came a caution to him. "Helen! Stay inside! I'll handle thi…"

_CRASH!_

Another dark figure had _flown_ out of nowhere and tackled Bob directly into the house, their bodies crashing through a wall and into the room of his oldest son, Dash. Seeing his father wrestle with the man right in front of his _Lightning McQueen_ racecar bed, Dash bounced up and down excitedly, rooting for his father. "Get 'im, Dad! Kick his butt!"

Bob didn't pay much mind to his son's cheers and instead focused on pounding his fists against the face of the intruder. However, the punishment didn't last long, as the man threw the super-strong being off of him, forcing his body to smack against the wall opposite of the one they crashed through. Angered over what happened to his father, Dash ran to the intruder, moving at such a remarkable speed that he came as a blur to him. Dash then unleashed a series of fast punches all over the man's body, from his groin to his head, attacking him while he had him down.

Not taking any more of the super-fast onslaught, he pushed Dash right into his bedroom closet. This, however, was a _huge_ mistake. Dash found a baseball bat in his closet that he immediately picked up and charged at the intruder with it. He jumped onto his bed, bouncing onto it to give him enough height to match his opponent's, and smacked the bat right over his head, breaking it into two pieces. The blow was strong enough to send the man into unconsciousness, his body falling to the floor with a huge _thud_.

A recovered Bob noticed at the last minute what his son had done to the intruder and smiled proudly at him. "That's my boy!"

Back outside, Heather found herself face-to-face with three different masked men, one of which was the "red-eyed" stranger with the power to project heat waves from his eyes. He attempted the attack once more; but Heather quickly retaliated by blowing a massive gust of wind that sent both him and his two accomplices sprawling over the ground. While they were down, Heather dashed towards them and grabbed one, leaping high in the air with him. At about fifty feet in the air, she dropped his body and left it crashing right on top of a Porsche that was parked right across the street. The impact left the masked stranger incapacitated.

As soon as Heather landed back to the ground, she was met with the barrel of a gun that was pointed directly at her head by another masked man. She looked at the gun and then to the man, grinning confidently. "I should let you know that no bullet is gonna stop me, dude."

The masked man bellowed with laughter. "I know what you are, _freak_. There aren't typical bullets in this gun. It's loaded with _kryptonite_ bullets that'll tear right through your skull, as soon as I pull the trigger."

Heather's confident grin quickly faded; she knew what kryptonite was – one weakness of Superman's. And considering that much of her abilities were shared with the Man of Steel, there was a definite chance that she had his weakness as well. Whoever these men were, they undoubtedly had connections with Lex Luthor, Flintheart Glomgold, and the experiment, if half of them unleashed powers similar to hers and Superman's and knew all about kryptonite. They could be the ticket she needed – that was, _if_ she didn't have one of them aiming a gun at her head.

"Say goodnight, Superwoman!" The intruder told her.

Just when he was about to pull the trigger, something flew right in his face, distracting him from Heather. It was a fly, buzzing all over his nose, eyes, and mouth. Of course, it wasn't just any fly that spared Heather's life; it was the tiniest Rescue Ranger known as Zipper. The man was doing all he could to swat him away, which included using the hand he held the gun in to do it.

Zipper flew away from the masked man, although the gun-toting thug wasn't finished with him yet. He aimed the gun at Zipper, attempting to waste his kryptonite bullet just to defeat the bug. Unbeknownst to him, he was aiming his gun towards his companion with the red glowing eyes who was getting back to his feet. And once the thug opened fire on Zipper, he missed the bug horribly and ended up killing the masked, super-powered being.

The stranger saw what he had done and was none too pleased with himself for doing it. "Aw, sh…!"

His obscenity was drastically cut short when Heather reached forward and snatched the wrist of the arm he used to hold the gun. With one quick twist, she cracked his wrist, forcing him to let out a bloodcurdling scream and drop the gun. She grabbed by the collar of his black shirt and threw his body against the side of the van that he arrived in, putting an imprint of it in the process. Removing his ski mask, she saw the thug's true face, although she had no idea who he really was. He appeared to be young Hispanic-born stranger with a face that screamed "tough guy."

"Who the hell are you?" Heather aggressively interrogated him.

After a few deep breaths, the young man finally gave in and said, "I'm Detective Gonzalez of the Gotham City Police Department…or I should probably say _former_ detective, since my bosses think I'm dead by now."

"And why's that?"

"Because of an explosion at a warehouse that your cousin was in at the time. An explosion that resulted in the death of a detective named Elisa Maza, and she's been catching heat for it ever since. She's so desperate that she'd even turned to David Xanatos for help…but she doesn't know the truth."

"The truth about what?"

Gonzalez chuckled boldly. "I ain't tellin' you, _freak_!"

"You'd better, or else…"

"Or else what? You'll kill me? We know all about you, Heather Kelley. You don't have the guts to kill another human being. You're _nothin'_ like your psycho cousin. She was literally _born_ to kill. You…You're just chicken sh…"

_POW!_

One punch right across his face was all it had taken to knock him unconscious. It was the last insult that she was going to take from such a lowlife figure. She threw his unconscious form away from the van and on the Parr family's lawn. Just as she was done with him, she looked up and noticed Bob Parr and his family running out of their partially destroyed home and confronting Scrooge.

Approaching them, she didn't need to be too far away to hear Bob's furious voice shouting to McDuck. "What is going on? My family was just put into extreme danger!"

Helen added onto his frustration by giving the duck a scolding of her own. "You people come here with those…those…_weirdoes_ in tow? Who _are_ you?"

Scrooge attempted to answer, but he was interjected by Heather. "They were here because of some vital information we know about the project that LuthorCorp funded decades ago. The same project that took place durin' the time that Mr. Incredible was Lionel Luthor's bodyguard."

Bob stared at her in surprise, just as he had done so before; only this time it was more dynamic. "How do you know about that?"

Heather sighed and said, "Because that same project is what led to my birth. It's what helps me to do somethin' like this." She turned to the inferno that used to be his car, took a deep breath, and let out a chilling gust of wind that extinguished every bit of flame on the car. The sight astounded Bob and his family, as Heather displayed an ability that was identical to Superman. Once she was finished, she turned back to Bob and told him, "Don't ask me all of the details, because I'm still learnin' quite a bit myself. But with each passin' moment, I'm learnin' more and more about what these scientists did to my mother at the time of my conception, including how it's resulting in her deteriorating health."

"Your mother's dying?" Helen reacted in surprise to this fact from this stranger she just met. "How long does she have?"

Heather shrugged. "The doctors don't know…but I'm worried that it could be very soon. That is, if I find the cure, which I believe is with the very people who sent these men after us." She focused on Bob with pleading eyes and said, "I know they're still experimentin' on this thing, Mr. Incredible. You have to help me know where they're conductin' their research, so I can retrieve this cure and save my mother's life."

Bob just couldn't resist seeing the torment in this young woman's eyes. She was practically begging for the assistance of the superhero he once was in saving the life of a loved one. But how could he oblige with his wife and kids – the very people whom he pledged to protect and be with – standing there and witnessing all of this? It was horrible enough that they were almost killed that evening; he didn't need to see them in such danger again. Then again, Dash did defend himself pretty well against that one masked intruder.

It was still a risky mission to accept. He was about to tell Heather that he unfortunately had to decline, until his wife suddenly spoke out. "He'll help you." Bob glanced at her in surprise, not even realizing that he was smiling just as proudly as she was. "_We_ will help you."

"Sweet! We're gonna fight more bad guys!" Dash cheered.

"No, no, no! When I say 'we,' I mean your father and myself." Helen reiterated. "You, Violet, and Jack-Jack are going to stay at a neighbor's house and be babysat while we're away."

This information wasn't met with much zeal from the two oldest Parr children. "WHAT?"

"Mom, I'm too old for a babysitter." Violet indicated. "Dash, on the other hand…"

"Watch it, Violet!" Her older brother warned.

As much as Bob wanted to side with Helen on her decision, he had no choice but to disagree for important reasons. "Helen, they can't stay in this neighborhood. What if these people come and attack them again? They know everything about us, including who our neighbors are. We can't take that risk."

"I won't have our children's lives at stake, Bob."

"Who's saying that we're getting them _completely_ involved in our mission?"

Helen looked at him with a disapproving glare, which Bob wasn't all that fazed by. Eventually she knew that he had a point and groaned a reply. "Fine. They can come. But only if _he_ watches over them." She pointed directly at Scrooge, who was taken aback from her suggestion.

"Me? Why me?"

"Oh, come on, Mr. McDuck. I've seen how you handled Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby." Heather pointed out. "How are these kids any different?"

"Simple…they're _not_ ducks!"

Heather smiled and shook her head at him, before telling Helen and Bob, "He'll gladly watch over your children."

Scrooge wanted to scream out another retort, but he didn't want to ruin a good deal. Instead he just turned around and headed to his fancy car, grumbling on his way there, "I'm gonna have Duckworth call the police to handle what happened here, and then I'm gonna tell him to go back home – because there is _no_ way I'm havin' any children in my car!"

Heather did her best to try and not laugh at how the "Richest Duck in Duckburg" was reacting to his new responsibility. Meanwhile, Bob turned to Helen and told her, "We're gonna need some air support to get us where we're going."

"I've got a friend who can hook me up with an aircraft. Let me give him a call." Helen handed Jack-Jack over to Bob and headed back in the house to use the phone. Watching her go, Heather was relieved to finally be one step closer to saving her mother's life. She only hoped that nothing would go wrong at this point in her progress.

* * *

Fenton Crackshell walked proudly down the hallway of the Metropolis hospital that Heather Kelley's mother was kept in, with Clark Kent by his side. He hadn't felt this proud before in his entire life, mostly because he was given such an important task that he couldn't have possibly screwed up as himself and not his superhero alter-ego, Gizmoduck. And to be doing it with the greatest, mild-mannered reporter from _The Daily Planet_ was a bonus in itself. Somehow, having Clark there with him made things a little easier to handle.

"Thanks for agreeing to come with me, Mr. Kent." Fenton expressed his gratitude. "You and Heather must go back pretty far for her to trust you with helping me out on this assignment."

Clark smiled. "It's my pleasure, Fenton. Heather and I _do_ go back pretty far. In fact we're _much_ closer than you think."

Fenton wanted to ask if that meant what he actually thought it meant, but he was suddenly stopped cold at an alarming sight in the room that Alicia Kelley was being kept in. Apparently it seemed that her son, Sean, was nowhere in the room with her. She was practically in there by herself, with the exception of a nurse who walked in to check on her stats. In dire need of getting answers, he walked right into the room and asked the nurse, "Excuse me, ma'am. But did a young, tall black man come into this room recently to visit this woman?"

The nurse turned to Fenton and shook her head. "Not recently, no."

Clark looked very puzzled at this, while Fenton was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "Oh, no! Now Sean's missing! Heather's gonna explode when she hears this! She'll never leave me with another task to do, as long as I live!"

"Fenton, calm down. This isn't your fault." Clark assured him. "Listen, just contact Heather and let her know that Sean didn't arrive as planned."

The nervous duck nodded in agreement with the idea. He noticed how Clark was heading away from him and curiously inquired, "Where are you going?"

"To do some investigating." Clark answered. "You said that Heather and Scrooge McDuck were heading to the house of Mr. Incredible, right?" Fenton nodded in confirmation. "Well, what a better place to start finding answers."

As he watched the news reporter leave the scene, Fenton realized how much of a point that he had. And as much as he wanted to do what Clark suggested and tell Heather that her brother hadn't reached the hospital and unexpectedly went missing, he felt in his heart that it would be the wrong thing to do to worry her of something possibly greater than her mother on the verge of death. So he decided to take the alternative – transforming into Gizmoduck and going to Mr. Incredible's house to investigate, despite the fact that he had no idea where it was. Thankfully, Gyro Gearloose installed a function in the suit to track down the homing beacon in Scrooge McDuck's hat, allowing him to track down all his current and future stops.

While heading to the rooftop to transform into his suit, he wondered just how Clark Kent was going to find Mr. Incredible's house, when he was unaware of its location himself. It wasn't like _he_ had a homing beacon to follow. This was all the better reason for Fenton to go against his idea of calling Heather and staying at the hospital, because there was no way he would get everything accomplished in time to find out where her brother had disappeared to. As Gizmoduck and with all the necessary tools at his disposal, he could get the job done much faster.

Only what Fenton Crackshell didn't know about Clark Kent was when there was trouble happening, he wouldn't respond as a mild-mannered reporter. Instead, he would switch into Metropolis's most powerful superhero to date. But on this particular mission, he would be getting some unexpected assistance from yet another powerful hero.


	15. Chapter 15

**XV**

Ciciley's body could not have been stiffer as she was sitting in one of the rear seats of the _Thunderquack's_ cockpit. While everyone else was sitting comfortably, mostly due to their frequent trips in the speedy aircraft, she was practically clasping onto the armrests. Her palms were sweaty and, beneath her black sneakers and white socks, her feet certainly had to have been as well. If those weren't obvious signs of aerophobia, then she didn't know what was.

Honker was the closest one sitting to Ciciley, and he could practically hear her breathing heavily, as if on the verge of a panic attack. Concerned, he asked her, "Uh, excuse me, Detective Michelle…but are you okay?"

Ciciley nodded slightly and showed a little grin to ease the child's concern. "S-Sure. Just f-fine, hon. Don't you worry a-about this o-old gal."

Hearing the anxiety in her voice, Darkwing swung around in his chair, so that he was facing her direction, and began to banter the woman who was once aiming a pistol at his head. "Gee, the trigger-happy detective wouldn't happen to be _scared_, would she?"

She didn't appreciate the way he was talking to her, so she showed off a little banter of her own to settle the score. "Huh, I dunno." She once again pulled her gun out and aimed it at the masked mallard. "Let's find out, when my scared _and_ sweaty finger pulls the trigger of this gun."

Darkwing reacted the same as before when she pointed that gun at his head, nervously chuckling and turning away, pretending like their exchange never occurred. With her message getting across, Ciciley put the gun away, saving it for the _real_ confrontation that lied ahead. In fact, looking over Launchpad's shoulder, she could see the Eyrie Building directly ahead, as several flashes of lights popped randomly through the area. She knew that could only mean one thing: **there was one hell of a fight happening, and she wasn't there to be part of it.**

Ciciley began to completely forget about her aerophobia – a whole different anxiety starting to take over. She hadn't been in a good fight since the warehouse incident, and she was willing to let another altercation eradicate that one from her memory. Launchpad, on the other hand, grew very agitated from the sight of the battle happening on the castle-rooftop structure of the building. There was practically nowhere for him to land the _Thunderquack_, with so much of the chaos spread all about.

The pilot chuckled fretfully. "Uh…not to be a wet blanket here, but…how're we gonna land in the middle of all that?"

The others saw what he meant. Darkwing, seeing a perfect opportunity in getting back at Ciciley for that recent punk-out, purposely suggested, "We could always _crash_ our way down as usual, L.P."

Hearing this, Ciciley's aerophobia returned again. Launchpad believed that his boss was being serious and acknowledged his command. "No problemo, D.W."

"NO!" Ciciley suddenly cried, not realizing how desperate she sounded as she did. Everyone glanced at her in surprise, with the exception of Darkwing, who had quite a smug expression on his face. Clearing her throat, she calmly stated, "I mean, no. There's a better way of getting down there, _without_ crashing."

"And what would you happen to suggest, _little girl_." Darkwing inquired with that same smug attitude that was beginning to get on her nerves.

She tried not to let his smugness get to her, as she thought of an alternative to getting down to the castle. Looking around the cockpit, she spotted a coil of rope nearby the seat she was sitting in. She reached down to pick it up and noticed how stretchy it felt. That's when she realized that it was a bungee cord. For a brief moment, she questioned why Darkwing would own such an item; but it didn't matter, as long as she could make good use of it.

"We'll use this." She showed the cord to her fellow passengers, who stared at it in confusion, trying to figure out what her plan of action was.

After giving a brief tutorial, the plan commenced with Launchpad opening the _Thunderquack's_ cockpit, while hovering forty feet above the castle. Ciciley clipped one end of the cord to a safety harness that came with the cord, while clipping the other end to one section of the aircraft's controls. As she hopped onto the edge of the cockpit, she pulled out her gun, checked to see if it was fully loaded, and then took a deep breath. Loosening the muscles in her body, she allowed herself to drop away from the cockpit and fall forty feet to the castle.

Explosions erupted all around her while falling, but she paid no mind to them. Her eyes were closed the entire time, although she had no awareness of it the entire time. It wasn't until she felt her body jerk back did she open them again and found herself bouncing twelve feet above one section of the castle. Realizing that she reached her destination, she removed her safety harness and let herself fall freely the rest of the way down. Once her feet hit the stone floor, she rose up her weapon and pointed it to whoever dared to mess with her.

"Foolish human!"

And there came Victim Number One.

Ciciley spun around and pointed the gun at her first opponent. However, she didn't anticipate that opponent to be a six-foot, red-haired female gargoyle with a four-foot long high-tech shotgun grasped in her hands. Ciciley might as well have been brandishing a toothpick in defense of what she had. "You _truly_ believe that you will survive this battle?"

She didn't exactly know how to respond to such a question, whether or not it was rhetorical. Honestly, she didn't plan on getting out alive…never…out of _any_ situation. Didn't matter if it was something as feeble as the bar fight she was in days ago or something as massive as this particular situation. Never was there any plan for getting out alive; it was all about risk, not faith.

Of course, faith seemed to have proven to be the greater of the two.

_FLUMP!_

Out of nowhere, Darkwing fell right atop of the female gargoyle, knocking her out upon impact. The bungee cord soon followed, dropping limply over him and the female gargoyle. It wasn't very long before Gosalyn soon arrived in the same fashion, falling right onto her father and making him make a sound that was extremely awkward to Ciciley. Luckily, she didn't end up as hurt as her old man appeared to have been.

"Aw, man! It's just as awesome _without_ the bungee cord!" Gosalyn joyously exclaimed.

Ciciley couldn't help but to enjoy Darkwing's immense pain, after all of the bantering he had given her in the past hours. And she took this great opportunity in getting back, kneeling down and leaning in towards the groaning masked mallard's face to say, "If it's any consolation…thanks for saving my butt by thinking with yours."

Darkwing grumbled some obscenities than sounded inaudible to Ciciley. Gosalyn gave her best interpretation of it, "He says, 'You're welcome'."

"I figured so." Ciciley grinned with sarcasm.

At that moment they heard approaching footsteps and noticed David Xanatos approaching with two shotguns – like the ones held by the female gargoyle – held in his hands. "Glad you showed up. Here take this," he handed her one shotgun, "you're going to need it if you're fighting one of the Immortals."

Ciciley accepted the shotgun with confusion on her face. "One of the what?"

Before Xanatos could've explained, something – or some_one_ – suddenly flew over them, unleashing a wave of hot energy from its eyes that set much of the area around them on fire. Xanatos aimed his shotgun at the flying figure and fired, green smoking billowing out from the barrel. He hit his target, causing it to fall from the air and crash into a wall, dying on impact. Witnessing the whole thing, Ciciley could barely believe any of it; of course, she believed a man could fly – but _only_ if that man was Superman, who that person clearly wasn't.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" She yelled. "Is this all part of that _Dungeons & Dragons_ crap you were talkin' about?"

"Far from it, I'm afraid." Xanatos answered. "More science in this than sorcery."

Stomping footsteps were heard coming their way, and they spotted a darkly clad man, dressed much like the one that Ciciley remembered seeing in the warehouse. And just like that one, his eyes were glowing red. Recent memories of a nightmarish situation came flowing back to her, igniting a fire within her that was not going to let history repeat itself again. Quickly, she lifted the shotgun Xanatos had given her, aimed it at the stranger, and pulled the trigger.

The power of the shotgun was intense, as it unleashed a hail of bullets that ripped right through the "Immortal," as Xanatos referred to him. His body felt almost instantly afterward, dying right there in front of Ciciley. It was the first time she had ever watched one fall, with her previous attempt at trying to kill one a dud with the weapon of choice she used. The experience made her feel like she was in control of things again, yet she was still confused of how these beings came to exist.

But it was an explanation that she would have to wait for later, as more Immortals advanced upon them. Realizing the danger that Gosalyn and her incapacitated father were in, she told her, "Get to safety!" She carried out this order without hesitation – something that she was rarely known for doing – while Xanatos and Ciciley unleashed a hail of "special" bullets on the fleet of Immortals that came their way, each carrying a power that rivaled Superman's.

One Immortal tried freezing Ciciley and her shotgun with his breath. But she was able to dodge out of the way in time to fire her shotgun at him, sending him tumbling several feet back. Another tried a flying tackle on Xanatos, before he tactically ducked and fired, killing and grounding the Immortal. Ciciley had to admit that move was impressive for a pompous businessman like him.

In the midst of the battle, a ferocious roar echoed the heavens. Flying overhead, Goliath had two Immortals in his grasps, with his eyes glowing in an intense white hue and mirroring his aggressive attitude. He hurled them across the air, and as they soared, Xanatos and Ciciley aimed at them like duck hunters. They fired their shotguns and nailed the targets, leaving limp bodies falling below with a huge crash.

Goliath landed near the two shooters after the defeat and claimed, "There are too many of them. And you won't have enough guns or ammo to last against them all."

Ciciley could see how right he was with all of the Immortals attacking from the ground and sky, combating with both Goliath's clan and robotic gargoyles designed by Xanatos. It was a lost cause, fighting such super-powerful beings. And if the numbers between them weren't enough evidence of that, then seeing Brooklyn's reddish, winged form crashing to the floor near them had to be. They quickly went to his aid, checking to see if he was alright.

"Brooklyn!" Goliath cried. "Are you hurt?"

"I'll live." The young gargoyle moaned.

A series of explosions erupted overhead. Looking to see what it was, they saw just about every single one of Xanatos's robotic gargoyle erupt in fire from Immortals with both flight and heat vision capabilities. Several of their parts rained down over the castle, generating loud clanging sounds on their impact. Ciciley, Goliath, Xanatos, and Brooklyn covered their heads in protection, even though none of their pieces landed their way.

Soon Lexington, Broadway, Hudson, and Bronx regrouped with them, looking as exhausted and defeated as they felt. "What're these guys?" Lexington asked the question that so many of them seemed to have been wondering, as they watched several Immortals march their way.

"We won't let them take us down without a fight, lads!" Hudson boldly declared, lifting his sword high above his head.

Just when it seemed as if the two forces were about to engage in one massive, bloody fight to the death, the sound of jet engines rocketing throughout the air brought everyone's focus to the night sky. All that was in the air at that point was the _Thunderquack_, piloted by Launchpad McQuack and with Honker Muddlefoot being the only passenger. However, after a few seconds, another aircraft emerged from the clouds and flew at an unbelievable speed, heading directly towards the castle. Clear evidence of what it was and whom it belonged to was palpable from the bat-shaped structure of the aircraft.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ciciley uttered.

The bat-shaped jet rocketed over the castle and fired a volley of darts at the army of Immortals in attendance there. Each dart glowed in a greenish hue and connected with a variety of areas on their bodies. Screams of discomfort and pain erupted from the beings, as they all started to fall to the floor and slip into an unconscious state. It saved Ciciley and her team a great deal of energy and ammo, as every Immortal there in the castle had been put into submission.

"Sorcery!" Goliath reacted in surprise.

"No, dude. That is a miracle." Ciciley corrected him.

"'Glory Hog' is more like it!" One voice contradicted, and all eyes looked away from the bat-shaped jet and to the source of the voice, which belonged to a partially-recovered Darkwing Duck, emerging from the hiding spot that he and Gosalyn had taken.

Ignoring his critical remark, they refocused on the jet, just as it began to descend within a space wide and open enough in the castle to suit its landing. The group went to the area and greeted their savior, as the cockpit to the jet mechanically opened. And then, like cold wind sending chills over them, they saw a tall, dark figure emerge. To Goliath and his clan, he was but a mysterious figure; but to Ciciley, Xanatos, Darkwing, and Gosalyn, he was either known as "The Dark Knight" or "Batman."

Regardless of how intimidated he was from his appearance, Darkwing faked boredom and jealousy. "Show-off," he muttered low enough that the dark vigilante could not hear him.

"Did you call him?" Ciciley questioned Xanatos, whose surprised expression should've been enough of an answer to her question.

"No," the businessman remarked, "he's here on his own accord." He noticed that the Dark Knight was beginning to stride their way, almost looking as if he were floating rather than walking. Xanatos, feeling confident, stepped up and greeted the dark figure, sticking his hand out for a friendly shake. "We owe you a great deal for your services. Truly, you saved our liv…"

_POW!_

Xanatos barely even saw the black-gloved fist that connected with the center of his face, nearly caving it in. Blood almost instantly poured out from his nose and mouth while falling back and landing directly on his rear end. The sudden aggressive attack from Gotham City's greatest hero took Ciciley, Darkwing, Gosalyn, and the Gargoyles by surprise. They were aware of how easily the businessman could get under a person's skin; but what Batman had done was nearly uncalled for.

Glaring up at the dark, intimidating figure, Xanatos said to him, "I didn't deserve that."

"Like _hell_ you did!"

The heavily familiar voice came directly from the cockpit of Batman's jet. All eyes focused on it, just as another passenger exited out of it. Ciciley and the Gargoyles nearly collapsed from shock once they realized that the passenger was Elisa Maza – clearly not as dead as everyone had believed her to have been. She was definitely alright, despite the fact that she wasn't wearing her red leather jacket or her police badge.

"What the hell…?" Ciciley uttered, seeming more puzzled than delighted to see the detective alive.

"Elisa!" Goliath exclaimed, heavy emotions overwhelming his voice.

"You're alive!" Broadway cheered.

Soon all of the Gargoyles rushed up to her, crowding around and hugging her. Ciciley, in the meanwhile, remained standing where she was, between Darkwing and Gosalyn and Batman and the bloody-faced Xanatos. She felt like her world just flipped upside-down right before her eyes; the dizziness in her head turned that metaphor into literal sense. The time had come for answers – for Elisa's "death," the weird super-powered beings they just faced, and everything else that had been going on the previous hours.

Apparently no questions were required, seeing that Elisa started walking her way with purpose. "Cici, you were right…about Navarro and Gonzalez, about the conspiracy, and about everything else. But this just got _way_ bigger – and it's all because of _this_ man." She pointed to Xanatos. "He's been working with three of the biggest billionaires in the country to create an army of supermen powerful enough to rival the 'real deal' and possibly help them control the entire planet. And he's been using you and Goliath as enforcers to see that his plans were carried out flawlessly, using my 'death' as ploy to wheel you in. It's why I spend the past days making everyone believe I was dead, so that we could flesh him out in the open and expose him for the crooked jerk that he is."

Ciciley looked past Maza, seeing the dark, empowering figure glaring down upon Xanatos. She remembered the hatch door that she found upon the debris from the destroyed warehouse. It had to be how Maza got out before everything blew to hell. Batman knew of its existence and helped pull her down to lord knew where, keeping her there for days. For a brief moment, jealousy nearly took over, as she thought about how Elisa was saved by the Dark Knight and not her.

But she knew just who to take all that frustration out on, and that was Xanatos. "Is this crap all true? Have you been using me this whole damn time?"

Xanatos chuckled in a sneering tone. "Don't be too surprised, Detective. You knew _exactly_ who you were dealing with the entire time."

She knew that he had a point. As desperate as she was to clear her name, she was willing to accept collaborating with the most two-faced businessman in Gotham City. Only there was never any plan to clear her name; there was only the purpose of using her for some world domination plot that sounded like something from a bad Saturday Morning cartoon. It made her angry – angry enough to aim the shotgun that he mistakenly gave her directly at his head.

"And I know _exactly_ how I'm gonna end it!"

Xanatos didn't seem too surprise to see her threatening him at gunpoint. It was just as if he planned for all of this to happen – the attack on the castle, Batman's arrival, and getting caught. The whole thing sounded ridiculous in her mind. But how did she know that wasn't precisely how Xanatos wanted her to feel? What did she _really_ have to lose from killing him that very second?

"Don't do it, Ciciley." Elisa warned her.

"And why the hell shouldn't I?"

"Because he's the only one who knows that your cousin is a…"

_BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!_

Three immense, powerful gunshots rang throughout the air and, before anyone could realize what just happened, Elisa Maza was down on the ground, bleeding from her left thigh and the right side of her torso. Until she watched her go down, Ciciley almost thought she was the one who fired the shots, especially seeing that she was the only one holding a gun at the time. However, the shots rang from overhead and all eyes turned to an overlook where the female gargoyle that Ciciley encountered upon her arrival was standing there with her gun smoking at the barrel.

"DEMONA!" Goliath roared to the female gargoyle, his eyes glowing from his fury over what just occurred.

Then there came the sound of rotors from a helicopter spinning and the aircraft appeared right behind Demona – the female gargoyle. It was piloted by Owen Burnett – another sign that Xanatos seemed to have planned ahead for all of this. Even as Demona had everyone distracted by her powerful shotgun, he took advantage of the situation and bolted away from the area, reappearing onto the outlook in less than a few minutes. While entering the helicopter, he showed that he still had one ace up his sleeve: **he reached into his coat, pulled out a hidden handgun, and aimed it at Demona**.

At first, the female gargoyle had no idea of what was transpiring. Only until she saw the stunned looks on the faces of the people she had at gunpoint, looking past her and the barrel, she turned around and witnessed the betrayal unfolding before her eyes. A bloody grin emerged from Xanatos's face as he sinisterly stated, "I've been waiting to do this for a _long_ time."

_BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!_

He fired continuously at Demona until there were no more bullets in the gun, riddling the front and back of her body with holes. The whole incident happened in slow motion to Goliath, as he saw the gargoyle that he once loved being murdered by the human he passionately despised. It was the last act from Xanatos that wracked him with sadness and hatred. He unleashed a mighty roar that was a mixture of a man in anguish and a lion on the hunt. Goliath – the behemoth of a gargoyle that he was – definitely was both, as he leaped high into the air and glided towards Xanatos and the helicopter, while the both of them were taking off.

Goliath barely missed the helicopter, clinging onto its underbelly. He pounded his huge, powerful fist into the structure, inadvertently ripping into the fuel tank, spewing out all of the gas that the helicopter was running on. A warning alarm went off inside the cockpit, signifying to Owen and Xanatos that they were in imminent danger – something Xanatos did _not_ intend on. Regardless, there was still a strategy involved in removing Goliath from the helicopter.

Owen jerked the stick hard to the left, spinning the helicopter roughly in a circle. The tactical move was successful enough to remove Goliath from the underbelly of the helicopter, leaving him gliding and landing onto one of the towers in the castle. With Goliath free from the helicopter, Owen and Xanatos continued on their path, planning on making an emergency landing elsewhere to take care of the fuel they were losing. That, however, would not be allowed, as far as Ciciley Michelle was concerned.

Seeing the damaged gas tank as a perfect target, Ciciley aimed her shotgun directly at the failing helicopter. She ignored the great distance between her and it, focusing solely on the target. There was a reason that she made detective at such a young age – she was the best shot in the entire precinct. And she was going to prove that fact right then and there.

_BLAM!_

One shot was all she needed to fire at the damaged helicopter's ripped-open gas tank and cause it to erupt into one spectacular explosion that briefly lit the night sky, taking the lives of Owen Burnett and David Xanatos with it. The fiery remains of the helicopter rained down upon the side of the castle and crashed right into the edge, tearing apart several chunks of stone. From above, inside the cockpit of the _Thunderquack_, Launchpad and Honker witnessed the explosion with expressions of awe and shock. Launchpad could barely contain his excitement as he said, "Now _that_ is a good crash!"

After witnessing the death of Xanatos, Goliath turned to the overlook that Demona was murdered upon, expecting to find her body still lying there. To his surprise, there was nothing there a trail of blood leading to the edge of the castle. He knew that had to have meant that she escaped from there, alive but still gravely wounded. As much as he wanted to leave and find her, he had to remind himself of one other love of his life who needed him at that moment – Elisa.

Gliding back to the spot where she was lying down and attended by the members of his clan, he was stunned to see that she was smiling under all of the pain. "Elisa, are you alright?"

Elisa groaned a response. "It's just a couple of flesh wounds. Apparently Demona has lost her touch. Speaking of which, is she…?"

"She's escaped."

"Figures."

Seeing the condition that Elisa was currently in brought back horrible memories for Broadway when he accidentally shot his friend with her own gun. It was a mistake that he never got over and probably never will. Holding back tears, he assured his only human friend, "Don't worry, Elisa. We'll get you to a hospital as soon as possible."

"Thanks, guys." She smiled at them for a short time before turning her focus to Ciciley and becoming a little bit serious. "You've got to end this, Cici. Killing Xanatos was only scratching the surface. You've got to get to Washington, D.C. – that's where the source is."

Ciciley felt like her head was going to explode. "The source of what? What's in D.C.? What the hell are we dealin' with here, Maza?"

She felt a vigorous hand come down on her shoulder and heard a deep, dark voice tell her, "Come with me…and you'll find out." It didn't take much of a guess to know that the offer came from the Dark Knight himself – the very last person she could bring herself to trust at that point in time.


	16. Chapter 16

**XVI**

It was a massive crime scene upon Superman's arrival to what was left of the Parr family's home. There were several rolls of yellow tape used to block any non-police personnel from stepping upon whatever evidence had to be gathered by Metropolis police. The Man of Steel noticed black-dressed men being carried away in handcuffs, on a stretcher, or in a body bag. The scene looked like something more out of a Gotham City crime scene than a Metropolis one and it made Superman wish he had arrived there sooner. He did not see Heather, McDuck, or even the Parr family anywhere in sight, which raised further questions for the police.

"Superman!" He heard his name called by the lead detective of the investigation, a black-haired man named "Daniel K." but most on the force would just refer as "Danny." "I'm real glad you're here, man."

"I just wish I could've gotten here sooner. What happened?"

Danny shook his head. "We don't know. Most of anyone who was involved is either gone, unconscious, or dead. The only one still conscious and alive from it all is the kid sitting in the ambulance back there." Superman looked past the detective and spotted the young Hispanic man with a cast and a sling over his right arm. "We checked on him…he's a detective from Gotham City – one of the many corrupted ones in the city. And whenever we try and ask who sent him, he keeps giving us the same bullcrap."

Superman patted Danny on the shoulder and smiled. "You did good, detective. I'll take it from here."

"Thanks, Superman." Danny remarked.

Walking briskly to the young Hispanic man, Superman could see that he was being guarded by two SWAT officers, which seemed a little unnecessary, considering the fact that the young man would have nowhere to go with a broken wrist (something that Superman checked the legitimacy on via his x-ray vision). He finally approached the scene and told the two officers, "I've got it from here, guys. Thanks." The two officers nodded in acknowledgment and walked away, leaving Superman alone with the corrupt detective from Gotham.

Upon seeing Superman, the young man just chuckled and uttered, "Gonna send the big blue boy after me now, are they?"

"Maybe because they know you'll tell me the truth." Superman said. "Face it, son…"

"Do _not_ call me 'son'!" The corrupt detective snapped. "My name is Gonzalez!"

Superman nodded understandingly. "Alright, Gonzalez. If you won't tell me who sent you here, then why don't you tell me where Scrooge McDuck, the Parr family, and Heather Kelley are?"

Gonzalez sighed in defeat and informed the Man of Steel, "Probably halfway across Washington, D.C. at this point. They're going to the Hamilton Research Center."

"The old testing facility? That place has been abandoned for decades – why would they be going there?"

Gonzalez shook his head with a grin. "Nuh-uh, Supes! That's all you're getting from me. If you want to find out so bad, go there your damn self. The only person I'll be talkin' to from now on is my lawyer, asking to plead a case for insanity. You might see me around on probation in a month."

Superman just stared at the young man, seeing no other point in trying to get any other vital information from him. As he turned away from him, he and everyone else suddenly heard what sounded like a helicopter approaching the scene. Judging from the surprised looks of the police and paramedics in the area, Superman could see that it was not any backup that was called. In fact, as soon as he looked up, he noticed that it was not a helicopter that was coming into the scene – it was Gizmoduck, flying across the air with large, built-in rotors protruding from his "head." The Man of Steel smiled upon watching the high-tech superhero land in the middle of the crime scene, switching off his rotors by the moment his wheel touched the ground.

"Have no fear, Gizmoduck is here!"

A few of the police personnel in the area tried not to laugh in respect for Metropolis's second hero – if some would choose to call him that – while Superman approached him. "Good to see you here, Giz…but I'm afraid that there's not much here to investigate."

Gizmoduck seemed a bit sheepish to hear that. "Well…uh…then…Good work, everyone! I guess…er…I'll be moving on then."

Just as the high-tech duck was about to depart, Superman quickly told him, "There is one thing you can do for _me_."

"Really?" His usual "heroic" voice suddenly rose into a high-pitched, geeky one upon the excited attitude he felt from hearing the Man of Steel's request for _his_ help. Immediately, he cleared his throat and spoke in a lower pitch again when he responded, "I mean, uh, really?"

"I got word on the whereabouts of the other people who were involved in this scuffle – including your employer, Scrooge McDuck." Superman could see Gizmoduck's mouth gape open on the mentioning of the billionaire duck. "They're heading to an old testing facility in Washington, D.C. For what reason, I don't know; but I can certainly use your help in finding them."

Gizmoduck saluted to the Man of Steel like a military soldier. "It would be my privilege to help such a motivational figure to the city of Metropolis! You can count on me, Superman!"

Superman's smile grew. "What're the odds of me working with a _Duck_ of Steel for once."

* * *

A small, white private jet soared over a forest landscape in the night atmosphere. Its pilot was none other than Helen Parr, who was donned in a special, skintight red, yellow, and black costume designed by her fashion designer friend, Edna Mode. For nearly an hour, her brown eyes had been focused on the scene in front of her, which was what an expert pilot like herself should always do while flying. She was not exactly sure how much longer she had to fly, but in the event that she needed to pull an all-nighter, there was a thermostat full of hot coffee kept in the cockpit with her.

"Hey, Mom!"

Helen nearly banked the jet to the left upon hearing Dash's energetic voice behind her. It terrified the living daylights out of her, and once she was able to get the aircraft back in control. "Dash! Don't you _ever_ do that again while I'm flying!"

"Sorry…just wanna know where you got the cool threads from."

"These 'cool threads' came from a friend. Now go back to your seat, and while you're back there, ask your father how much longer we've got to go."

"That's what he sent me here for. He says that this research center place is just a few more miles ahead."

Helen sighed in relief. "Perfect. I hope they got a good landing strip or something, because I…" She stopped once she heard some rapid beeping coming from one of the consoles. It was the radar console, which was indicating some sort of activity outside the jet. Without looking away from it, she told her son, "Dash, go and get your father."

"What's…?"

"Please, Dash!"

On his mother's urgent tone, Dash immediately did as she requested and headed out of the cockpit, joining everyone in the passenger section of the jet. He was just about to go to Bob, who was conversing with Heather, until Scrooge McDuck appeared in front of him with an aggravated look on his face, carrying a babbling Jack-Jack in his arms. "There ya are! Your mother put _me_ in charge you kids, and I'm not gonna get scolded for not doing me job!"

"But I've gotta…"

"C'mon, c'mon! No dilly-daling around! Get back to your seat and buckle yourself in, lad!"

As Scrooge led Dash to the rear where Violet was sitting to the right and looking out the window of the plane, they passed by two empty chairs on the left…or at least they appeared empty – a closer glance would show that one was being used by the tiniest passengers in the plane: the Rescue Rangers. While Monterey, Gadget, Zipper, and Chip were sitting in one of the chairs, Dale was standing on the windowsill and looking out the window to the great nightly view passing them at exciting speed. "Wow-wee! Look at this view! No way would the Ranger Plane've gotten us _this _fast…no offense, Gadget."

"None taken, Dale." Gadget remarked. "In fact, I agree! This jet travels almost at the same quantity of speed as the Ranger Plane…but I haven't quite yet tested out its limit."

Chip seemed a little aggravated over Dale being so close to the window that his face was practically pressed against the glass. "Dale, get down from there! You might break something!"

"Oh, relax, Chip. You should be up here with me and seeing these cool blackbirds!"

"What blackbirds?" Chip inquired, his curiosity taking him out of the seat and over to the windowsill with Dale, seeing what his friend was referring to. Chip gazed closely into the night sky and noticed the three flying beings Dale had been talking about. Unfortunately, they were not birds…they were flying _men_, donned in the same black attire as the ones at the Parr household earlier that evening. Upon seeing them, Chip cried to the others, "They're back! They're back!"

Hearing Chip's cries, Heather turned away from her childhood hero and turned to the chipmunk as he pointed out the window. "Who's back?" She asked, but she didn't get her answer until she looked out the same window Chip and Dale were looking from and spotted the flying "supermen" near the wings of the plane. "Oh, god! They are!"

Violet screamed right beside Scrooge, Dash, and Jack-Jack, accidentally scaring Jack-Jack to the point that he started crying in Scrooge's arms. "They're on the other side!"

Bob, donned in the same skintight outfit as Helen had been, was sitting on the same side of the plane as Violet. He looked to the window and noticed two more supermen flying near the wing, just as they were on the other. "They've got us surrounded!"

"Bob!" He heard Helen shouting to him from the cockpit. "We've got a problem here!"

"I'm noticing that, honey!"

"Well, what do we do?"

She asked a reasonable question, which left Bob to think fast as he always had done as Mr. Incredible, who he had to be that very moment. "Helen, are there parachutes on this thing?"

Helen instantly knew what he was thinking. "Yeah, in the overhead compartment right near the cockpit door."

Bob immediately went to that particular spot and opened the panel, finding at least up to four parachutes – not enough for everyone on board, but he had to make due with what he had. Taking them all out of the compartment, he started handing each of them to Dash, Violet, and Scrooge. "Alright, I'm giving everyone one chute each, but I'm going to ask two of you to carry other people."

"You mean we're jumping out of the plane?" Violet exclaimed with a terrified look on her face.

Dash, on the other hand, was ecstatic on the whole idea. "Awesome!"

Noting Violet's concern, Bob assuredly stated, "Everything will be fine, sweetheart. Trust me." He then turned to Scrooge and asked, "What about you? How are you on this?"

"If you'd met my pilot, Launchpad McQuack, you'd know that I haven't the slightest problem with jumping out of a plane!"

Bob nodded, seeming to understand. "Well, good, because you're gonna be carrying my youngest son with you." He then quickly moved to the Rescue Rangers, picking each of them up and handing them over to Dash and Violet, who both carried them gently in their hands. "You two watch over these guys and make sure they don't leave your sight."

Monterey seemed just as uneasy on the notion of jumping out of the plane as Violet did. "Suddenly I'm startin' to think takin' the Ranger Plane wasn't such a bad idea after all!"

Heather had been watching how Bob was giving out the parachutes to everyone except for her. Curiously, she inquired, "Where's my chute?"

"You won't need one." Bob answered, much to her immediate surprise. "You can fly like these guys, which is why I'm gonna need you to fend them off until all of us have bailed out."

Stunned beyond belief, Heather stammered to tell her childhood hero that one of the powers she had yet to mimic of _any_ superman – whether it would be "The Man of Steel" himself or the bad copies surrounding them that very moment – was the power of flight. The best response she could give to him was "okay." After then, she pretty much volunteered for whatever crazy plan he expected from her to "fend off" the supermen. Like Mr. Incredible, she would have to do some serious quick thinking.


	17. Chapter 17

**XVII**

Everything from her teeth to her butt was clenched on Ciciley as she rode in the rear of the cockpit within Batman's jet. Through the entire ride, her eyes were closed shut, not wanting to see the view streaming past them outside. Batman, of course, had to keep his eyes focused on everything surrounding the jet through the entire ride into Washington, D.C., which included Darkwing Duck's _Thunderquack_ aircraft flying to the left of Batman's jet. The Dark Knight could see it trying to catch up with the jet – clearly Darkwing trying to prove himself superior to him. Regardless of speed, the two aircrafts were able to maintain radio contact with one another.

"So, uh, when will see this Hamilton place, Batman?" Launchpad asked.

"Shouldn't be very far now – maybe a few more…" A whirring noise suddenly came from his console, directing Batman's attention to it immediately.

Ciciley slightly opened her left eye upon hearing the sound. "What? What is it? Are we having flight troubles?"

"No, the radar is indicating Immortal activity up ahead." Batman indicated, before speaking into the radio and adding, "Launchpad, keep your aircraft behind me. There are Immortals ahead of us."

Darkwing could be heard chuckling over the radio. "Nice try, bat-boy! But I've tried that trick before on _other_ superheroes. There's no way you're gonna."

_BOOM!_

Without warning, the left wing of the _Thunderquack_ suddenly exploded into flames, throwing off the equilibrium of the aircraft. Batman and even Ciciley, who braved herself to look out the cockpit window, watched as the _Thunderquack_ descended and disappeared into the forestation below. Before Batman could try to check the radio and see they were still alive, an Immortal suddenly landed right atop of the cockpit with eyes glowing in red, clearly on the verge of using heat vision to cut into the glass. Quickly, Batman pressed a button on the console that unleashed a charge of kryptonite-laced electricity over the exterior of the jet, shocking the Immortal to the point that his body went limp upon falling off the jet.

Watching the Immortal fall fifty feet to the ground, Ciciley asked the Dark Knight, "Do you plan all of this ahead or just improvise when it happens?"

Batman did not answer, because he did not have a moment to. Directly ahead of them was a private jet that had Immortals buzzing all over it. Without taking his eyes off the sight, he told Ciciley, "Hold on tight!"

* * *

"Honey, are you ready?"

Inside the cockpit, Helen could hear Bob's voice shouting from the passenger section of the jet. She felt like a coward for bailing out of the plane, instead of using her handy flying skills to evade their pursuers. However, she could not risk endangering the lives of her own family and friends in the process. "I'm coming, Bob!" She clarified to her husband, before putting the plane on autopilot and hopping out of the cockpit, joining everyone in the passenger section.

Bob was standing right beside the door with his parachute strapped to him, just as ones were strapped to Scrooge, Dash, and Violet as well. The only ones who were not strapped with parachutes were Helen, Jack-Jack, and the Rescue Rangers, who were either being carried or clinging to the ones who were strapped. Heather was the only exception, having already promised Mr. Incredible that she would handle the flying supermen with her own flying abilities – something that she was not certain if she had. Her hands were already becoming very sweaty, even as she watched Bob's black-gloved hand gripping the emergency handle.

"Everybody ready?" Mr. Incredible asked of his companions.

_Hell no!_ Heather thought to herself, while she and the others gave an undecided nod to Bob.

Even Bob seemed uncertain himself as he gripped the handle, his own growing incredibly sweaty beneath his gloves. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed hard, gripped tightly to Helen's rubbery body, and yelled upon opening the door, "NOW!"

A massive gust of wind blew into the aircraft as soon as Mr. Incredible opened the door. Everyone felt themselves sucked right out of the jet and into the sky, including Heather, who snatched onto the left wing of the jet to avoid falling off. Never had she been so high up in the air, not even when she was leaping across the cornfields in Smallville or running up the side of the _Daily Planet_ building in her younger years. This scenario was entirely different, because she had no control of what she was doing and one slip could result in catastrophe.

While holding on for dear life, she could see Mr. Incredible, Scrooge McDuck, Dash, and Violet all deploy their parachutes before disappearing into the forestation below, each with the other passengers securely in their care. Even as the mighty night wind blew past her long, blonde hair, she wished that she could have landed the same way with them. Of course, she was given a responsibility to do on account of a flying ability that she was unsure of whether or not she actually possessed. And she did not seem to be fully grasping those duties at the moment, any more than she was grasping the wing of the jet.

_BANG!_

Heather felt a slight tremor come over the wing, believing at first to be simple turbulence. Unfortunately, as soon as she braved herself to open her eyes again, she realized it came from two of the flying supermen pursuing them. The plan was coming into fruition, and she had to toughen up to put herself fully into it. Praying that her super strength would keep her leveled, she stood upright and confronted the two supermen. One immediately flew right at her with a spinning kick, clearly displaying some martial art talent that he had before he gained superpowers.

Blocking the kick by grapping the superman's leg, Heather then twisted her body and hurled him toward the body of the jet, slamming his form into its exterior and placing a nasty dent into it. His companion then attacked himself, grabbing Heather from behind and locking her into a bear hug. This superman appeared to have possessed both flight _and_ super strength, making things quite complicated for Heather. The other superman pried himself off of the body of the jet and went after the restrained Heather again, charging at her like a linebacker.

Before the superman could have gotten anywhere near her, she kicked her feet up and wrapped her legs around his neck. With one mighty twist, she threw the body of the super-powered being once more – that time into the turbine jet engine that was whirring loudly behind them. As soon as the superman's body connected with the gears of the engine, it exploded into a ball of fire, rocking the entire jet in the process. The superman restraining Heather was thrown back, losing his grip over her. Once she was free, she gave a fierce right hook over the superman's face, which sent him reeling back and falling right off the wing of the plane.

With the two supermen taking care of, Heather faced another problem – the damaged jet quickly losing altitude. She could see its nose pointed to the trees below, only seconds away from crashing. However, things only got worse when the three remaining supermen flying over the jet started setting fire to other sections of the aircraft, increasing the speed of its descent. Heather was terrified, uncertain of what to do that very moment. It seemed that the supermen had her exactly where they wanted her, and she was useless to make any sort of escape.

And suddenly…

One of the supermen dropped lifelessly toward the ground, losing total control of his flight power. The other two then joined him, falling like rag dolls to the forestation below. Heather looked on in confusion and was even more confused when she saw a bat-shaped jet soar directly over her. It took her mind off the fact that she was descending rapidly to the ground momentarily. As soon as she was reminded of the danger, she realized that she had the total freedom to escape at that point. Of course, she only had seconds to do so, seeing that was the amount of time she had before the crash.

Crouching down hard, Heather intensified her legs and braced herself before she made one incredible leap into the air, moving away from the heavily damaged jet. The last thing she felt prior to blacking out was the extreme heat of the flames and her body increasing in velocity, just as she heard the loud pop of the explosion when the jet finally crashed.

* * *

Thirty Minutes Later

"Is she dead?"

"She can't be – the lass is nearly made out of steel!"

"Don't care how many weights you lift, no one can survive a fall like that!"

"Well, _she_ did, meaning that she's _not_ dead."

The voices Heather heard as she slowly regained consciousness sounded very close to her. Her clear blue eyes opened and she saw a blurry collection of colors from purple to black at first. As soon as her eyesight was in focus, she could see the faces of Mr. Incredible, Scrooge McDuck, Elastigirl, and her cousin, Ciciley Michelle, standing over her and smiling. Seeing Ciciley's face surprised Heather the most as she groggily uttered, "Cici? Is that you?"

Ciciley nodded. "Bet your butt it is, cuz!" She offered her hand to Heather and helped her get to her feet. "You're lucky to have survived that little crash."

Heather saw an intense light at the corner of her eye and turned her head to see the flaming wreckage of the jet near them with Batman, Dash, Violet, and the Rescue Rangers standing a few feet from it. "Damn…I must've fallen harder than I thought, because I could swear I'm seeing _the_ Batman."

"Nope, he's actually there, believe it or not. He came with the insanity." Ciciley told her, just as she heard Heather groan and saw her bending over with her hands on her head. "Hey, are you sure you're alright? Do you need a doctor?"

Mr. Incredible laughed at Ciciley's inquiry. "A doctor? Are you kidding? This kid is a superhero – she is the closest representation of Superman there is. She doesn't need a doctor."

Ciciley stared at the aged superhero oddly. "What the hell are you talking about? This is my cousin, man. We're nearly made from the same ordinary flesh and blood as everyone else. She's not some kind of 'Supergirl' as you claim her to be."

The others exchanged surprised glances. "You…You mean that…she never told you?" Scrooge inquired.

"Told me _what_?"

_THUMP!_

Out of nowhere, Heather fell back to the ground, slipping into an unconscious state again. Ciciley immediately went to her aid and tried to revive her by means of shaking her and even slapping her face a few times. "Heather! Heather! C'mon, cuz! Don't do this to me!"

Before the others could assist, the sound of a twig snapping nearby turned their attention into the darkness. They were all equally alarmed from the sound, worried that a wild animal or another Immortal was hiding there. After some time, they were relieved to discover that it was only Launchpad McQuack, Gosalyn Mallard, Honker Muddlefoot, and Darkwing Duck, stepping out into the light with their hands rose above their heads and worried expressions on their faces. Albeit he was relieved, Scrooge seemed very puzzled to see his pilot there at the scene.

"Launchpad? What're _you_ doing here?"

Launchpad chuckled sheepishly. "Uh…Hey, Mr. McD! This is a little…er…awkward."

"I'll say it is!" McDuck exclaimed, sounding a bit angry. "My pilot here in the middle of nowhere with two children and some _badly_ dressed trick-or-treater!"

Darkwing took offense to Scrooge's words. "Hey…watch it, grandpa!"

"Why do you guys have your hands up? We're not armed." Bob asked.

"Well, uh, you're not…but _they_ are." Launchpad remarked, right before seven men clad in black masks and clothing stepped out from behind the pilot and his three companions, armed with assault rifles that were aimed at them.

Seven more men stepped out into the clearing, also armed with rifles that were pointed directly at the group. While they were surrounded, they suddenly felt a series of tremors coming through the ground beneath them, accompanied by the sound of mechanical movements. Within seconds, an enormous black sphere-shaped robot with six clawed appendages that stomped over every tree in its path had emerged, its red laser eye protruding atop of it and staring down over the small group. One last figure then showed herself to everyone, aiming a handgun at the head of Ciciley.

"Hello, _Former _Detective Michelle."

Ciciley glared at the figure standing before her. "Navarro."


	18. Chapter 18

**XVIII**

A short man in a lab coat and very thick glasses with receding red hair walked across a hangar that neighbored the Hamilton Research Center complex, while escorted by a group of black-dressed men carrying rifle guns. He did not seem to be all that intimated by them, mostly due to the fact that they were on his side. An "insurance policy" set up by his employers to ensure that he was always observed for professional and personal reasons. This was no ordinary scientist – it was the notorious mad scientist known as Professor Norton Nimnul, who had already recently been thrown into prison for crimes against the city of Metropolis for constructing a laser cannon designed to create a giant gelatin mold that would be used to cause an earthquake under the United States Gold Reserve.

Of course, Nimnul's sentence did not last very long, as he made bail – which was set at the inescapable sum of one million dollars, which was exactly how much his employers were worth individually. The bail was made just days prior to being hired for "special purposes." For the next few weeks, he waited impatiently for whatever his services were needed to arrive. And it seemed to have arrived that very night, as Detective Navarro arrived at the hangar with other black-dressed men with guns, the robot designed and created by one of his employers, and a large group of captives – one of whom was a woman that fit the description of the particular subject that he was told to watch out for, being carried over the shoulder of one of the black-dressed men.

As Nimnul approached the group, he noticed one of the men carrying five small critters in a squared, plastic cage with small breathing holes on its exterior. He recognized these critters and instantly went into a frenzy. "It's them! It's them! Those creatures are the ones who threw me into prison! Get 'em out! GET THEM OUT NOW!"

"Hey, chill out!" Navarro exclaimed, and her commanding voice quickly calmed the mad scientist. "They're in a cage now, so they shouldn't be any concern of yours." She pointed to the unconscious woman being carried in and added, "Lex Luthor is paying you to transfer this freak's blood into my own. Now can you do that or not?"

The mentioning of Lex Luthor name made Ciciley Michelle exchange a glance with Mr. Incredible, Scrooge McDuck, and Batman, all of them seeming to have known of the corrupt businessman's involvement in this the entire time. In the meanwhile, Nimnul approached the plastic cage that his enemies – The Rescue Rangers – were kept in and napped it, letting out a high-pitched laugh. "You little creatures won't dare get in my way _this_ time!" He then looked to the man holding the cage and ordered, "Take them to my lab, so I can keep an eye on them while I perform my work." Afterward, he gestured to the unconscious Heather Kelley and added, "Take her there as well."

Two men entered the scene, wheeling in a stretcher that they placed the unconscious Heather onto. Ciciley looked on in great concern as she, along with the Rescue Rangers, was taken to the back of the hangar and out through a door that could only be accessed by a special code. After she was gone, Ciciley turned her attention to Navarro. "Where are you taking her?"

Navarro turned to the young detective and grinned. "Follow me."

Leading the way, Detective Navarro brought the captives and their escorts over to a large set of steel double doors with a control panel to the right side of them, adjacent to the door that Heather and the Rescue Rangers were taken through. Navarro opened the control panel to reveal a hand scanner, which she used to open the large double doors. It appeared to have been an elevator large enough to carry up to thirty people, which was almost the exact number within the current party of people. Navarro stepped in first, then Ciciley and her friends, and finally the black-dressed men. Once all were inside, the elevator doors closed, and they were taken down to the sub-level of the research center.

* * *

It felt like hours before the elevator finally came to a stop and allowed its riders to exit into a long grey corridor that was barely lit. Still at the lead, Navarro brought the group down the corridor, passing through wide windows looking into empty rooms filled with just an operating table. As they passed by the windows, Navarro began her explanation. "The upper levels of this research center were reserved for hospitable purposes, acting as a place of nourishment and relaxation for the subjects brought on board for the experimentation done here. They needed that nourishment and relaxation in order to help raise the children."

"Children?" Ciciley uttered with confusion.

"You call them the 'Immortals'. The very same group of super beings whom you've encountered for days now. This is place where they created them by means of recreating the process that led to the birth of Superman. Advanced science like no other – it was a way of playing God that only a _real_ god like Lionel Luthor could embrace."

"And now his son is the successor of this dream of his." Scrooge stated.

Darkwing scoffed. "More like a nightmare."

"Call it what you want!" Navarro sneered at Darkwing. "The science here performs great miracles…including mine." Navarro reached up at her eye patch and removed it. At first, the group cringed, expecting to see a mess of caved-in flesh that used to be an eyeball and eyelid. However, they were amazed to discover that Detective Navarro had a healthy left eye, albeit it was a different color from the other one, which was the natural color of hazel. This _new_ eye was a light shade of blue, giving Navarro's eyes the appearance of a heterochromatic victim.

Ciciley stared into her eyes, her own widening with shock. "How did you…?"

Navarro simply gestured to her right, not looking away from Ciciley, who turned her head in that direction along with everyone else. The sight that met them through the window they were standing near horrified them all. Inside, sprawled out across the operating table, was the body of a woman who had every section of her body cut open and every living organ removed from eyes to kidneys, leaving nothing much of her left. Her horribly ravaged body dripped with her own blood, which also covered the walls and ceiling. It was a sight that neither Ciciley nor her friends could bear much longer – even Helen shielded the faces of Dash, Violet, and Jack-Jack from it.

"Her name used to be Louise Rogers – a friend of your aunt and cousins, I believe." Navarro stated. "Now she's just shell of her former self…literally."

Ciciley gritted her teeth in fury. "You sick witch!" She advanced on Navarro but quickly stopped once the corrupt detective aimed her handgun directly at her head.

"This gun is loaded with the same kryptonite-laced bullets used to kill Immortals, Cici. If you come closer, I promise I'll pull the trigger and find out just how much of a mess it can make on a regular human being."

The young detective fought hard to compose herself. "Why? What was the purpose of killing her? She had _nothing_ to do with all of this!"

Navarro lightly touched her new eye. "Because I need to be perfect for my rebirth. In just a matter of minutes, I'm going to rise as an immortal. And when I do, there won't be a thing any of you can do to stop me. Oh, and Ciciley…" She added with a great deal of scorn in her voice while nodding to Louise's corpse, "Sean's next."

Ciciley felt her body grow stiff and cold from the revelation that her other cousin was being held in that very same area. Soon her body became stiffer – that time from the immense rage she was feeling. The only thing that kept her from ripping Navarro apart there and then was the voice of Norton Nimnul coming through a walkie-talkie strapped to Navarro's waist. "Detective? Are you there? We are ready to begin the process."

Navarro removed the walkie-talkie from her waist and spoke into it. "Be right there." Switching it off, she gave an order to the men escorting Ciciley and the others. "Take them to Mr. Luthor and his two 'associates' at the upper level. They should know what to do with them."

The armed, black-dressed men nodded in acknowledgment and escorted the captives back to the elevator. While they were doing so, Ciciley glared a hole into Navarro, who only grinned in reaction to her "evil eye." If that were to be the last time those two ever came face-to-face, Navarro wanted to make sure that her victorious grin would be the final thing Ciciley ever saw of her. As soon as Ciciley was away, Navarro turned the opposite direction and headed further down the corridor.

* * *

A great distance away from the Hamilton Research Center, Superman and Gizmoduck were flying toward the complex. Superman had his power of flight, while Gizmoduck was using his helicopter function. However, Superman seemed to have flailing a bit in his flight patterns, which soon became noticeable to Gizmoduck. The Man of Steel was shaking his head at times and blinking repeatedly, seeming to be losing focus.

"Are you feeling well, old chum?" Gizmoduck inquired.

After swallowing hard, Superman weakly answered, "Yes, I'm…I'm fine." He then looked to Gizmoduck and asked, "Did you just call me 'old chum'?"

Gizmoduck stammered and chuckled nervously, pretending as if he did not know what the superhero was talking about. "W-We, uh, should be seeing the research center very soon. What are we going to do once we get there?"

"Find out why our friends are there and see if we can help in any way."

"Any idea what they would be looking for there?"

Superman frowned – lost in thought. "This is where Heather Kelley was born…created by scientists to be something close to what I am." Gizmoduck glanced at Superman – a surprised expression on the eyes of Fenton Crackshell beneath the mask, wondering how the Man of Steel could have known such a secret. His answer came when Superman added, "I've seen what she does and for once felt like I wasn't completely alone in the world. Of course, I'm an alien, but Heather…I think that's why she came to Hamilton…to figure out exactly _what_ she is."

Gizmoduck was silent for a moment, but soon stated, "I know what she is." Superman turned to him, listening closely to his next words, which he delivered rather warmheartedly. "A hero."

* * *

On the upper level of the semi-abandoned research center, there was a special room reserved for conferences amongst scientists and businessmen. It was long and wide with a ceiling that rose up to thirty feet above the head of anyone who walked around it. For years, not a single soul had stepped into that room. That all had changed when Ciciley and her companions were brought inside by the black-dressed guards and forced to be seated at the long table in the room. Due to the lighting being so behind of its years, sections of the room were very dark, including the far end of the conference table.

However, there soon proved to be someone within that very darkness, keeping him well hidden until the moment he spoke out. "Greetings, welcomed guests," he said with an empowering voice. "We welcome you to the world of…science." The man soon stepped into a lit section of the room to reveal himself to be none other than Lex Luthor.

"Luthor." Batman uttered. "I'm _not_ surprised."

"None of us are." Ciciley added.

Scrooge gazed closer into the darkness and viciously exclaimed, "You come on out, too, Glomgold! I know ya there as well!"

And, surely, Flintheart Glomgold stepped into the light, joining Luthor's side. Unfortunately, he was not alone. Joining him were Negaduck and Quackerjack – two figures that brought an angry glare on the face of Darkwing Duck. "Nothin' seems to get by those old eyes…do they, Scroogie?"

Scrooge failed to recognize Glomgold's two odd-looking accomplices. "And who are these jokers?"

"Hey, I resent that remark! I am Quackerjack – the other guy you're thinking of is still in Arkham Asylum."

"I told ya that I would get what I want, McDuck." Glomgold said. "If that meant working with lunatics like these, then so be it."

Mr. Incredible shook his head in disbelief. "All this…for a young woman with superpowers?"

"Not just _her_ power, but ones for _all_ of us." Luthor clarified. "You see, that's the problem with you superhero types. You have all that great power, but none of you are willing to share it with humanity. My father saw a great deal of potential in you particularly, Mr. Incredible. When you spared his insignificant life from a cowardly plight, he realized that if everyone was super, no one would be a fragile as he was. That is why he went forward on the project that this center ran years ago, using fragments of kryptonite discovered beneath the very complex we are standing upon tonight to recreate the civilization that our hero of Metropolis once lived upon before its imminent destruction."

Scrooge McDuck appeared very alarmed on Luthor's words. "Kryptonite? Ya mean the stuff that kills Superman?"

"The stuff that's gonna kill him when he gets here." Glomgold uttered, and he grinned at the stunned looks on the faces of the captives. "Yeah, ya heard me! That Boy Scout will be arriving soon, with Gizmoduck in tow – another one of your treasures that'll soon belong to me, McDuck."

"Over my dead body, he will!" Scrooge exclaimed with an angry fist.

Launchpad chuckled nervously on his boss's exclamation. "Uh…maybe those are wrong words to choose in front of the bad guys, Mr. McD."

"It's inevitable, old duck." Luthor said. "The kryptonite has been transformed into a generator that continues to power even the lights still working within this room. It's below in the sub-level of the center, which – as you've witnessed earlier – can be only accessed by the DNA of myself, Mr. Glomgold, and our other associates."

"That kryptonite is killing a good woman and friend of mine!" Scrooge exclaimed. "Shut it off now or…"

"ENOUGH!" Ciciley suddenly yelled. "I'm getting pretty damn sick and tired of everyone saying that Heather is some type of super-powered _freak_! She's not whatever you think she is, so just let her go!"

The room was completely silent after Ciciley's tirade. Everyone stared at her with emotionless looks on their faces, not saying a single world. It was not until Glomgold approached the table, reaching beneath his coat and pulling out a peach-colored folder that he placed right in front of Ciciley. As she stared down at it, he sneered at McDuck, "Should've had the guts to tell this kid upfront when you met her, Scroogie."

Ciciley's eyes focused on Scrooge as she asked him, "What's he talking about?"

"Look in the file, and you'll get your answers, little girl." Glomgold said.

Curiously, the young detective opened the folder and found a collection of documents held together by a single paperclip. Removing the clip, she gazed through them, seeing several documentations that had the Hamilton Research Center's name and seal of approval stamped all over them. The documents gave details on the very experiments that ran there years prior, but soon Ciciley started finding details on her cousin, Heather Kelley, who had been codenamed "Project S" by the center. There was one photo of Heather as an infant and another of her mother, Alicia Kelley (whose real name of "Alicia Langston" was noted beside her photo). Finally, she spotted the photo of a young Caucasian male in an army uniform with his dossier next to it, revealing his name to be "Henry Kelley" – Heather's biological father.

The documents confirmed everything that everyone had been claiming on Heather to be the truth to Ciciley. In total disbelief, she uttered, "My cousin is…an Immortal."

"Or a total freak – whatever you prefer." Negaduck sneered, much to the delight of Quackerjack, who laughed hysterically.

"Your cousin has a _very_ rare blood type, Detective." Luthor informed. "It can heal whoever has it in their bloodstream. I believe David Xanatos gave you a demonstration when you were badly injured after your first scuffle with an Immortal."

Ciciley's memories traced back to the moment she came face-to-face with Xanatos in the Gotham City hospital, as he injected her with the "formula" that healed her injured leg. Only that moment did she realize it was in fact a blood sample collected from her cousin when she was an infant, as documented in the files that she just finished reading through. A variety of emotions ran through her, from betrayal to anger, as she started to realize why Heather arrived there at the center. "She was looking for a cure for my aunt…her mother. She came here knowing it was the only way."

"Funny thing is that your other cousin, Sean Kelley, came to me for the benefit of sparing her own pride and soul – something McDuck did for her, but through different means." Luthor gestured to Mr. Incredible upon uttering those last two words. "Of course, I agreed to help…but Glomgold convinced me of how much of a clause he'd be in our plans for luring Miss Kelley and Gizmoduck to exactly where we wanted them."

Ciciley tried to compose herself when she muttered, "And Louise Rogers?"

"Detective Navarro looked her up and knew how involved she was in your 'family affair'." Luthor answered. "It's been in my experience to know how snoopy reporters can be, especially while withholding the type of information Rogers did. So I made sure to make her useful in the 'rebirth' of Navarro."

The young detective shook her head negatively. "You don't know what you're doing giving that psycho Heather's abilities."

"Oh, we know _exactly_ what we're doing, Detective." Luthor contradicted. "You see, by giving only a fraction of Miss Kelley's blood to another being, we only cure that other. Seventy-five percent of it gives only half of the abilities of an Immortal. But the entire thing…and you become a god…just like her."

"And then what, Luthor?" Batman inquired. "What if she goes so insane with her new powers that she turns on all of you?"

"Well, we _do_ have a _kryptonite_ generator, now don't we?" Luthor said with a grin. "Which reminds me – we have visitors coming, so we should get on with the show. But first…"

Luthor suddenly reached underneath the conference table and pressed a small button. Out of nowhere, the end of the conference room, shrouded in darkness, was illuminated as soon as the wall automatically slid open and let in the light of the moon. Unfortunately, Luthor did not open it for that purpose. Instead it was for letting in the strange black sphere-shaped, tentacled robot that was seen by the group earlier that evening. Without warning, it lashed out a tentacle and grabbed Mr. Incredible, lifting him high in the air.

"BOB!" Helen cried.

"DAD!" Dash and Violet screamed.

Luthor grinned at the sudden predicament that Mr. Incredible was in. "My _other_ associate wanted me to send you his regards…and a special creation of his that he likes to call, 'The Omnidroid'."

The proclaimed "Omnidroid" then hurled Mr. Incredible directly out of the conference room and into the outside forest. Turning itself around, it went on with its punishment on the old superhero, right before Luthor had the wall close shut once more, sealing them away from the battle. Helen lost her composure, forgetting completely that a crying Jack-Jack was in her arms. Scrooge did his best to compose her again with a little help from the black-dressed guards, who held her down in the chair. Dash went into a fit of anger himself, attempting to fight off the guards and Lex Luthor, before Violet kept him restrained in his chair. All while the family of Bob Parr was blinded with rage and causing a scene, Ciciley calmly reached for the paperclip that held together the documents and held it beneath the table, straightening it out.

"I've had enough of this malarkey!" Glomgold exclaimed in aggravation. "Guards! Take these people out of her and dispose of them!"

The guards nodded in affirmation. Just as one approached Ciciley and forced her out of the chair, the young detective then gripped her straightened paperclip and jabbed it into the neck of the guard. He instantly went down, screaming in immense pain and confirming a fact that Ciciley knew from the moment they showed up with their guns – these guards were _not_ Immortals, but regular human beings. Dropping his rifle gun, Ciciley quickly went for it and fired upon a few of the other guards in the room, killing them instantly.

Everyone ducked down while Ciciley fired the weapon. The only exception was Batman, who flew in action at the time she did, leaping over the conference table and taking down some other guards, even disarming them. Soon all of the guards in the room were either killed or unconscious, leaving the captives a perfect opportunity in escaping from the room. As they had done so, a furious Lex Luthor took out a walkie-talkie that he had kept in his right pocket and shouted, "All units! Be on the alert! The captives are on the loose! I repeat…the captives are on the loose!"

Glomgold then turned to Quackerjack and Negaduck and ordered, "You two get to the hangar! That'll be the first place they go to!"

"We'd better be gettin' paid extra for this, Glomgold!" Negaduck grumbled.

"Yeah, I might like Swiss cheese, but I don't wanna _become_ it!" Quackerjack added.

"Just go, you imbeciles!" Glomgold yelled, and the two convicts immediately headed out of the conference room, leaving Luthor and Glomgold to themselves. "We should've blindfolded them, Luthor! Things are _not_ turning out the way we wanted it!"

Luthor ignored Glomgold's complaints and focused on readjusting his walkie-talkie to another channel. Once he had it there, he spoke to the individual on the other end. "Nimnul, do you copy? This is Luthor."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor. How may I be of service?"

"You may 'be of service' by telling me how much longer until Navarro has the subject's blood transferred to her."

Nimnul sounded a bit nervous as he answered, "Uh…we're only ninety percent into the transfusion, sir. We'll need at least half an hour before…"

"We don't have half an hour! Just stick what you have – ninety percent is better than seventy-five. Disconnect the two women and tell the men at the generator to shut it down for eight minutes. That should be enough time for Navarro to recover."

"Er, okay. Whatever you say, sir."

After clicking off the walkie-talkie, Luthor turned to Glomgold, who was brandishing a chrome-plated weapon that resembled a shotgun. Luthor appeared a bit surprised to see it in his feathery grip. "And what is _that_?"

"A little gift I have for Gizmoduck when he shows up here." Glomgold remarked with a wicked scowl. "It fires an electromagnetic pulse that will strip away his armor and leave him defenseless against us."

Needless to say, Lex was impressed. "Very nice." Just as he made his compliment, the lights within the conference room went out, leaving the two figures standing in pitch blackness. It did not last very long, as red emergency lights then switched on, slightly illuminating the dark atmosphere. "They've shut down the generator. We have eight minutes to get to the surveillance tower and find where our 'friends' are."

* * *

Ciciley and her companions stopped right in the middle of an empty hallway that closely resembled one out of a hospital, right when the lights went out and were replaced with red emergency ones. She was still gripping the rifle gun she snatched from the guard she killed, briefly taking out its clip to see how much ammunition she had left – there was not much. Taking a deep breath, she tried to concentrate, even while Jack-Jack was crying in Helen's arms. It was hard to do so, not because the baby was crying so much, but mostly because Ciciley was concerned for him.

"Is the little dude alright?" Ciciley asked Helen.

"He's fine…just a little scared, that's all." Helen replied.

Ciciley sighed and muttered, "I don't blame him." As she put the clip she had taken out of her rifle gun back in, she turned to her friends and said aloud, "Alright – here's what we're gonna do. Batman and Darkwing are gonna take everyone back to that hangar. I saw a helicopter there that Launchpad can fly us all out in."

"What about our dad?" Dash exclaimed.

Helen sternly stated, "I am _not_ leaving my husband to fight that _thing_!"

"But you can't leave your infant son uncared for either." Ciciley contradicted.

"I'll leave him in McDuck's care like I did earlier." Helen said, and when she turned to find Scrooge in the group, she realized that he was nowhere to be seen. "Where did he go?"

Everyone else noticed the same thing and became just as confused as Helen was. "Yeah, where _did_ he go?" Darkwing asked the same question with more emphasis.

It was then that Ciciley deduced where the old duck was headed and became a bit aggravated. "Dammit! He's going after Glomgold!"

"Well, maybe he has the right idea, because I'm going to save my husband!" Helen declared, right before she handed a suddenly calm Jack-Jack over to Gosalyn Mallard. "Dash, Violet…I need you kids to go with your little brother and everyone else and escape while you can." The two children knew what their mother was about to tell them and tried to speak up, but she refused to let them for the sake of maintaining their bravery. "Your father and I will be fine…but it's crucial that you two get to the safest place possible. I love you, kids."

A few tears streamed down Violet's eyes as she responded in a broken voice, "We love you, too, Mom."

Helen kissed all three of her children on their foreheads and then headed down the left direction of the hallway. Watching her go, Ciciley felt a little worried for Dash, Violet, and Jack-Jack, who was left under the care of herself, Darkwing, and Batman. However, she had to toughen herself up, because worrying too much for them would only make them scared for their lives. With the absence of Elastigirl and Scrooge McDuck, she continued on her plans with the rest of the group.

"Alright, the rest of you are going to get to the helicopter." Ciciley instructed. "I'm going to go down to the sub-level, find my cousins, and get rid of that kryptonite generator."

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Batman asked. "Luthor shut down that generator for a reason – possibly to let Navarro regain her strength. If you come across her, you might not be able to stop her with that gun."

Ciciley thought carefully on what the Dark Knight told her, but she repudiated his warning and kept herself strong and confident as she always did in her life. "It's the risk I'm going to take, man."

Batman nodded in approval of her bravery. "Good luck, Detective."

"Thanks." Ciciley remarked. "Now get outta here!"

Batman, Darkwing, and the rest of the group then headed down the right direction of the hallway, making their way to the hangar. As soon as Ciciley was left to herself in the hall, she lowered her head and said a silent prayer. The moment she said "Amen" was the moment she made her move. With the rifle gun still gripped in her hands, she headed in the left direction, feeling more confident and determined than ever to rescue her cousins and end Navarro once and for all.


	19. Chapter 19

**XIX**

The body of Mr. Incredible smashed against the base of a tree, taking a large chunk of wood off from it and causing the entire thing to collapse. He quickly got to his feet afterward – battered, bruised, and bleeding from one side of his mouth – trying to get away from the large machine that was attacking him. The Omnidroid, as Lex Luthor called it, was relentless against the old superhero. It did not give him much of a fighting chance or any opportunity for recovery, as it lashed out one of its tentacles again, grabbed his legs, and hurled him across the night air, forcing his body to smack against another tree and knock it over. The Omnidroid continued this onslaught until Mr. Incredible could no longer stand on his own and fight back.

With its opponent heavily weakened, the Omnidroid attempted to give the final lethal blow. However, it was suddenly stopped when a rock hit the left side of its head, distracting its attention away from Mr. Incredible and toward its attacker. The Omnidroid's amplified sensory functions enabled him to see through the dark forest and spot Elastigirl hurling rocks at the robot. She had her left arm wrapped around the bases of two trees, working her stretchy limb as a slingshot.

This plan seemed to have worked really well for Elastigirl, until the Omnidroid fired an intense laser at the trees she had her arm wrapped around, exploding them into shreds. Helen was thrown back from the blast, her left arm retracting itself back to its normal state. Bob, seeing his wife confronting the large robot, screamed in alarm, "Helen! Get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you, Bob!"

The Omnidroid began advancing on Elastigirl, forcing Helen to think as quickly as she could. It unleashed a volley of laser blasts from its red robotic eye, each one Helen dodged, using her remarkable flexibility as a vital tool in her survival. Unfortunately, one of the blasts connected with Helen's right thigh and brought her down. Defenseless, she watched as one of the Omnidroid's claws raise up over her, gearing up to stomp her to death. Helen shut her eyes, not wanting to witness her own death at the "hands" of the mechanical monstrosity.

And then…

_SSSSHHHHRRRRR-BOOM!_

The robotic tentacle of the Omnidroid was suddenly severed from its body, falling uselessly a few feet away from Helen. When she heard it crash to the ground, she looked up and saw the Omnidroid reduced to five appendages, courtesy of Superman, who hovered in the air directly behind it. Turning its head to face the Man of Steel, the Omnidroid commenced in attacking him rather than Elastigirl. That proved to be some difficulty, considering the speed of Superman, as he flew circles around the robot and unleashed blast of heat energy from his eyes and over the Omnidroid's steel body.

While watching the battle, Helen heard what sounded like a helicopter approaching near her. She realized within only seconds that it was another famed superhero, this one being Gizmoduck. "Relax, ma'am. We have everything under complete control." The robotic duck then removed a med kit from one of his panels and set it beside Helen, preparing to nurse her wound.

Seeing the med kit and Bob's heavily wounded body far across from her, Helen screamed to Gizmoduck, "Not me! Take care of _him_!" She pointed to her husband, whom Gizmoduck soon took notice of and became alarmed by how wounded he appeared.

"Good heavens! I'm on my way, Mr. Incredible!" Gizmoduck exclaimed, before wheeling himself across the area, the tentacles of the Omnidroid coming into his path as he tried to get to Mr. Incredible's fallen body. He was able to dodge the large, mechanical appendages and make it to the wounded superhero just in time. "Don't worry, sir. I'll have you patched up in no ti…" Unfortunately for Gizmoduck, he left the med kit beside Elastigirl, completely forgetting it.

That was when he heard tapping over his shoulder and turned his head to see the med kit being held near the left side of his head. Apparently, it was being held by the stretched out arm of Elastigirl, who was still sitting far away. "Forget something?" She jested to the absent-minded hero.

Gizmoduck sheepishly chuckled as he took the med kit from her hand. "Thank you, ma'am."

* * *

Backtracking to the hangar was better said than done for Darkwing Duck, as he completely lost his way in the massive research complex. Fortunately, Batman – who seemed to be the _real_ leader of this group – knew exactly where to, thanks to a built-in G.P.S. system within his cowl. Thanks to the readout that came through a pair of lenses built over the cowl's eyeholes, they made it to the hangar through an alternative route in less than ten minutes. Once they arrived there, Batman retracted the lenses from his eyes, allowing him to see the world as normally as everyone else.

Everyone – except for Darkwing – seemed overjoyed from Batman's success in bringing them back to the hangar, especially Launchpad. "Hey, hey! Nice goin', Batman! Not even D.W. could've gotten us here _that_ fast…no offense, of course, D.W."

Darkwing gritted his teeth and muttered through them, "Fancy bat and his fancy little toys."

Glancing over the hangar area, Gosalyn spotted the aircraft the group needed in escaping the research center – a Boeing CH-47 Chinook. "Launchpad, over there. That's the helicopter we need to get outta here."

The aircraft reflected in the impressed eyes of Launchpad McQuack. "Whooooa! Now that's a biggin'!"

"Can you fly it?" Batman inquired.

"Well, yeah…there's nothin' that ol' Launchpad can't fly."

"Wanna bet?"

A sneering voice came from outside the group, and they were suddenly met face-to-face with Negaduck and Quackerjack, who both stood in between the heroes and their only way out. Negaduck had a machine gun aimed directly at the team, while Quackerjack was only armed with a banana. However, it was no ordinary banana that the crazed villain was brandishing – it was specially-designed "banana bomb." Of course, it was only a last resort, with Negaduck's machine gun working as the primary weapon.

"Your flight's been canceled!" Negaduck shouted, right before he opened fire on the group.

Without even thinking, an alarmed Violet Parr stepped out in front of her team and spread out her arms. Out of thin air, a large, translucent force field appeared, separating Negaduck and Quackerjack from the team. The bullets from Negaduck's gun bounced off the force field that Violet seemed to have been generating herself, falling uselessly to the floor. The others were very surprised by this superpower Violet was displaying before them, especially Dash, who knew Violet long enough to know that the only superpower she possessed was "invisibility."

"How are you doing that?" Dash exclaimed.

"I don't know." Violet answered, not taking her eyes off of Negaduck, Quackerjack, or the force field she was generating.

"Well, whatever you're doing, _don't_ stop!" Launchpad added.

Regardless of the powerful force field, Negaduck continued firing, desperately wanting to break through Violet's shield and end his prey. It was a distraction that Darkwing needed long enough to leap over Violet's force field and unleashed a flying kick upon Negaduck, knocking his enemy to the floor and causing him to drop his gun in the process. Batman then made his own move, coming around the right side of Violet's shield and hurling one of his steel-plated batarangs at Quackerjack. The batarang connected with the hand Quackerjack used to hold his banana bomb, forcing him to throw it across the air and leave it landing within a pile of wooden crates.

"Hey, no fair!" Quackerjack complained, just as he saw the masked vigilante storm his way. Laughing like a maniac, Quackerjack started cartwheeling himself to the crates and dividing into them, hoping to find his banana bomb.

With Quackerjack and Negaduck occupied with Darkwing and Batman, Violet lowered her shield and Launchpad began making his way to the Chinook, urging the others to follow. "C'mon! Everybody get to the 'copter! We're flying outta this coop!"

* * *

From within the plastic cage sitting atop a nearby table, the Rescue Rangers watched helplessly the entire time as Professor Nimnul performed his blood transfusion between Detective Navarro and Heather Kelley. Only minutes ago, after the transfusion was ninety percent complete, Navarro regained consciousness and departed from the room. Nimnul was left in the room only with the still unconscious Heather and the captive Rangers, whom the mad scientist directed his attention to afterward. He had a madcap look upon his face – more madcap than the Rangers are used to seeing it as – while advancing upon them.

"Now…your meddling will end here and now, you troublesome vermin!"

For a moment, the worried Rescue Rangers, having no idea what nightmare Nimnul had in store for them, figured that very moment would actually be their last one together. However, just when it seemed that their fates were sealed…

_CRASH!_

…a chair suddenly blasted through the window, shattering it to pieces. It landed just a couple of feet from the operating table that Heather was laying upon, barely missing her inert body. Ciciley Michelle then leaped right into the room, brandishing her rifle gun and aiming it directly at Nimnul.

The cowardly professor then rose his hands up in defeat and cried, "Don't shoot me! Don't shoot me! I don't have a gun!"

Ciciley nodded to the captured Rescue Rangers. "Let them go."

While Nimnul carried out the young detective's demand and released the Rescue Rangers from the cage, Ciciley heard moaning coming from behind her. Turning her head but keeping the rifle gun aimed at Nimnul, she noticed her cousin starting to regain consciousness.

"Heather…are you alright?"

Heather sat up on the operating table, rubbing her head slightly. "Other than feelin' a little dizzy, I'm just fine." After blinking a few times, she gazed around at the red-lighted room, seeing the frightened Nimnul, the freed Rescue Rangers, and the gun-toting Ciciley. "At least I was until I saw all of this. What the hell is goin' on?"

"Long story short, you're in the sub-level of the Hamilton Research Center. Somewhere here, there is a kryptonite generator that was responsible for putting you in bad shape." Ciciley explained before advancing upon Nimnul. "But Dr. Kevorkian here is going to tell our friends – the Rescue Rangers – how to get to it, so we can shut it down."

Nimnul shook his head negatively. "You couldn't possibly shut it down without trapping us all down here forever. The elevators can only be powered from the energy of the generator itself."

"But there is a backup generator; otherwise these red lights wouldn't be on, right?" Heather asked.

The mad scientist did not answer, prompting Ciciley to shove the barrel of her rifle gun into Nimnul's big nose and ask Heather's question in a more aggressive tone, "Right?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Nimnul quickly and nervously remarked.

"Then tell the Rangers how to get to the kryptonite-powered generator and shut it down." Ciciley ordered, and as Nimnul had done so, the young detective went to her cousin's side. "Heather, are you okay enough to walk?"

Heather got off the operating table and answered, "I'm feelin' pumped enough to lift the moon."

"Good, because I'm gonna need you to keep an eye on Nimnul while you're getting back to the top level."

"Why? What're you gonna be doin'?"

Ciciley took a deep breath before she answered. "I'm going to find Sean."

Heather's eyes widened in shock. "He's here?"

"Yes, but I'm sure he's alright, Heather. I need you to focus on getting Nimnul and yourself out of here."

"That's my brother, Cici! I'm not just gonna leave him behind! I can…"

"I know what you can do, Heather. I know _all_ about you now."

Upon hearing Ciciley tell her that, Heather stopped and stared at her in surprise, feeling a bit guilty for her having to find out through such extreme circumstances. "And you still trust me?"

Ciciley smiled. "We're family, girl. Gotta stick together, right?"

Heather returned her smile for a brief time and then turned serious when she focused on Nimnul again. "Alright, you. Let's get movin'!" She grabbed him by the back on his lab coat and shoved him toward the door, forcing him to open it and allow them both to walk out of the room.

As Heather and the mad scientist left, Ciciley turned her attention to the Rescue Rangers. "You guys know what to do?"

"We sure do." Chip affirmed. "Thanks, Detective."

The Rescue Rangers headed out of the room, with Ciciley following. They both headed in two directions – the Rangers went through a corridor straight ahead and Ciciley went through one on the right, using her instincts to guide her to Sean's location. Seeing that most of the sub level of the Hamilton Research Center was filled with empty operating rooms, she could only deduce that her cousin was being held captive within one of them. She rounded a corner and ended up running through another corridor, only this one had a very noticeable difference.

One of the operating rooms had been totally obliterated. Chunks of the room – from what had been left of the door to what remained of the window – was scattered all around. Ciciley was not entirely certain as to whether or not this was an accident caused a long time ago or recently. Although from the fresh burnt scent and smoke seeping out from the charred remains, she had to figure on it being recent. She approached the remnants of the operating room, covering her nose and mouth from smoke, and noticed one item left sitting atop the remains, not seeming to be scorched in any way.

Upon picking up the item, a stunned look crept across Ciciley's face when she saw what it was: **Sean's Gotham Gazette press badge**. "Oh, no."

"Oh, _yes_!"

She heard the female voice come directly behind her. Unfortunately, before she could have turned to see who it was, she was suddenly picked up by her head and thrown against the window of a nearby operating room. Her body shattered the glass, as it came in contact with the window, and smacked against one of the walls inside of the room. Ciciley instantly fell into an unconscious state, once her head hit the wall and her body went limp over the floor. Her attacker watched her for a short moment, believing her to be dead, and then walked away to continue on with business.

* * *

Lex Luthor and Flintheart Glomgold were relieved to have made it to the surveillance tower and not have run into Batman, Darkwing Duck, Detective Ciciley Michelle, or any of the other escaped captives. Yet neither of the two men was pleased to have seen Superman within the perimeter of the research center, battling with the Omnidroid and winning from the likes of it. Gizmoduck was in plain sight as well, nursing the wounds of Mr. Incredible. It was a sight that reminded Luthor to check his wristwatch to see if approximately eight minutes had passed. To his delight, it did.

"Get that weapon ready, Glomgold." Luthor uttered. "Because hunting season is about to open."

Just as Luthor made that remark, the red lights within the surveillance tower were switched back to the usual lights within the complex and the monitors displaying areas all over came on as well, signifying the return of the power from the kryptonite generator. Luthor and Glomgold grinned sinisterly as they watched Superman suddenly fall to the ground, right at the feet of the Omnidroid. Gizmoduck, seeing how weak he appeared, turned away from Mr. Incredible and quickly wheeled his way to the Man of Steel. Watching Gizmoduck make this move, Glomgold lifted up his chrome-plated shotgun, looked through the crosshairs situated above the barrel of the gun, and aimed for the robotic duck.

"Now I've got ya, tin can!" Glomgold yelled in victory.

"NO!"

Before Glomgold could pull the trigger, he felt something hard whack him against the back of his head, moving his target. Just as it moved, he accidentally fired his gun and unleashed an electromagnetic pulse right onto the Omnidroid. The effect was disastrous on the large deadly machine, causing it to malfunction and collapse into pieces. The sudden implosion of the Omnidroid caught Gizmoduck, Helen, and Bob by surprise, all looking upon the pile of scrap metal that used to be the death machine in surprise.

Meanwhile, inside the surveillance tower, Glomgold and Luthor were met face-to-face with Glomgold's attacker – Scrooge McDuck. He was armed only with his cane, which he used to whack Glomgold in the head with. "McDuck!" Glomgold angrily exclaimed. "You'll pay for that, ya old cretin!"

"You'll be the one paying, Glomgold…for your hospital bills!"

The two old ducks then engaged in a rough fistfight, rolling around the floor and yelling insults to one another, right before the shocked eyes of Lex Luthor. Choosing not to be involved in the scuffle, Luthor kept his eyes on the weakened Superman. "Omnidroid or not, Man of Steel…you won't be able to last much longer with such great of a quantity in kryptonite there is here."

* * *

Norton Nimnul laughed maniacally over the fallen body of Heather Kelley, as she dropped the moment that the kryptonite generator switched on again and started to writhe in pain. "Should've mentioned that Mr. Luthor set a time limit on the shutdown of the kryptonite generator, shouldn't I?" He told the weakened Heather. "So long, _freak_! Got places to go and money to make!"

Leaving Heather to die from the extreme levels of kryptonite, Nimnul continued down the corridor they were trekking through, until he made it to the elevator that would return him to the hangar. As soon as he pressed the panel to activate the lift, its doors automatically came open and allowed Nimnul to board. It seemed the mad scientist was getting away with his crimes flawlessly, especially with no Rescue Rangers to foil his escape. However, just after the elevator doors closed…

_KA-BOOM!_

The entire foundation of the center quaked heavily while the explosion erupted from somewhere within it. And from the way that the lights went out in the elevator and left Nimnul in total blackness, the mad scientist could have guessed it to be the kryptonite generator to be what exploded. He did not feel the elevator moving and the red emergency lights did not switch on right away from the backup generator. At that very moment, the once _happy_ mad scientist had quickly become the currently _terrified_ mad scientist.

"Oh, dear."

* * *

_KA-BOOM!_

The sudden explosion rocked even the surveillance tower, nearly knocking Luthor off his feet and forced Scrooge and Glomgold to stop their scuffle. All of the lights and monitors went out, leaving the room they were standing in illuminated only from the moonlight outside. Luthor grabbed for his walkie-talkie, switched to one channel, and bellowed into it, "This is Luthor! Come in! What in God's name is happening down there?"

There was only static coming through the device, which was all it had taken to make the impatient Luthor hurl the walkie-talkie to the floor, smashing it to pieces. He then turned to the exit and stormed out of the room, not bothering to look out the window and see how recovered Superman was with the kryptonite generator shut down again. Glomgold soon followed him, seeing their whole master plan shot completely. The two were total cowards to Scrooge, yet he knew they had the right idea by getting out when the time was good. Immediately, the richest duck in Duckburg made haste as well, while wondering what it was that had caused all of the power in the complex to shut down again.

When he saw the red emergency lights switch on halfway out of the room, he was somewhat relieved, especially since he had something to guide his way back to the hangar, which was where he expected the others to be by that time.

* * *

Negaduck shook the cobwebs out of his head and regained focus just in time to see Darkwing Duck posed in a fighting stance right before him. Angrily, he told the do-gooder, "You're gonna pay for that, Dorkwing! Nobody knocks me on my tail feathers and gets away with it!"

"Nobody except for Darkwing…"

Without warning, Negaduck executed a perfect spin-kick while his opponent was caught off guard, his foot connecting perfectly with Darkwing's face. Darkwing fell back from the hit but dodged just as he saw Negaduck charge after him again. Yanking out his gas gun, Darkwing fired single canister of knockout gas at Negaduck. Unfortunately, Negaduck kicked the canister aside, forcing it to land near the same pile of crates that Quackerjack was hidden somewhere in.

Using another function of his cowl that required the use of special lenses lowered in its eyeholes, Batman attempted to search for the hiding Quackerjack with x-ray sensory. It was a cowl function that made the Dark Knight almost feel like Superman – effective and necessary. And it proved its worth once Batman discovered Quackerjack's skeletal figure in one section of the pile, retrieving his banana bomb and climbing up the pile. Batman touched the left side of his cowl and retracted the lenses to see Quackerjack standing at the top of the pile.

"Like I said earlier, Bats…I'm no Joker – but I _have_ learned from the best!"

"If you consider the best being a homicidal lunatic out of Arkham, then I pity you, Quackerjack."

The loony villain laughed insanely, while he began to "peel" his banana bomb. "Don't make me laugh, B-Man! If you think for a second I'm goin' back to the bin, then _you're_ the one who's crazy!" He then held the smoking bomb up high, preparing to hurl it at Batman. "Stay nighty-night, Dark Knight!"

Right when Quackerjack was about to unleash the bomb, he suddenly sniffed something foul that was seeping past him. He became very light-headed and felt his knees buckle. Then the crazed villain slipped into unconsciousness, falling right back into the pile of crates and even crashing into one. Witnessing this strange occurrence, Batman looked around to see what might have caused Quackerjack to lose consciousness. He spotted Darkwing's canister of knockout gas sitting by the pile.

It could have been a clean defeat, if it were not for the fact that Quackerjack still had the banana bomb in his possession when he fell. And after a few seconds had passed…

_BOOM!_

The pile of wooden crates exploded into flaming splinters, leaving Batman to shield himself with his own cape.

Nearby, the combating Darkwing and Negaduck were distracted from the explosion, which was the second one they felt after the one earlier that rocked the building. Seeing how much more distracted Negaduck was than himself, Darkwing saw an opportunity in defeating his opponent. When he heard the rear rotors of the Chinook switch on near them, Darkwing snatched Negaduck's black and red cape, stuffing it into the spinning rotors.

"Hey, what the…WHOA!"

The surprised Negaduck found himself being spun around violently from the rotors, until his cape tore from his body and left him flying away from the Chinook's rotors and toward the smoking pile of burnt crates. Negaduck's body crashed into the pile, joining Quackerjack, who was still barely alive there. With both Negaduck and Quackerjack down and out, Batman and Darkwing stood side-by-side near the charred remains of the crates, watching their opponents emerge from them – broken and defeated.

"Can't say we don't make a great team, Darkwing." Batman uttered.

"No…I can't." Darkwing remarked with a grin.

* * *

"Cici…are you alright?"

Ciciley could barely make out the voice that was speaking to her as she slowly regained consciousness. As soon as her vision became clearer, she could see that it was Heather talking to her. "What happened?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

The young detective soon came upon the realization that her cousin was there, but Norton Nimnul was not. "Where's Nimnul? I thought you were taking him back up to the upper level."

"I was, but then I got hit with that kryptonite when the generator came back on. Nimnul must've taken the chance to make a break for it at the time."

Noting the red emergency lights, Ciciley then inquired, "If the generator turned back on, why are the lights still red?"

"Somethin' exploded just a little while ago, and I'm willin' to bet my life – literally – that it was that kryptonite generator. Because one minute, I'm flat on my butt, and then the next, I'm back on my feet."

Ciciley smiled. "Well, get me back on mine, so we can find the Rescue Rangers and get the hell outta here." Heather took her cousin's hand and helped her back up. Together, the two started making their way out of the operating room and back into the hallway. Just as they were out, the Rescue Rangers appeared right before them. "Good job getting rid of that generator, guys. Heather really owes you one."

"We didn't do it." Chip said with a shrug.

"Yeah, we're still tryin' to find where the generator room is." Dale added.

Heather and Ciciley both looked very confused. "Well, if you didn't shut it down, then who…"

_KA-BOOM!_

Heather's question was abruptly cut off the moment that another explosion erupted within the complex, rocking its foundation just as before. Alarmed, Ciciley told the others, "We need to get out of here _now_! I think this whole place is finally starting to show its age!"

As quickly as they could, the group made their way down the halls. Finally reaching the elevator that would return them to the hangar, Ciciley opened the lift doors through the activation panel. The doors opened almost immediately and showed one passenger already inside – Professor Norton Nimnul, cowering in the corner and sucking his thumb. Seeing how pathetic the mad scientist looked, Ciciley, Heather, and the Rescue Rangers all shook their heads in disgust rather than pity.

* * *

"Allllllll abooooooard!" Launchpad stuck his head out of the active Chinook and yelled.

"Launchpad, you ninny – that's not a train, it's a helicopter!"

The voice sounded very familiar to the pilot, and when he turned his head to see who it was, he was surprised to see Scrooge McDuck walking into the hangar with a smile on his face. "Mr. McD! Boy, it's good to see you! Did ya find Glomgold and Lex Luthor?"

"Aye, and I had those cowards right where I wanted, until that explosion scared them off." Scrooge answered. "They're probably far away from this complex now."

"I wouldn't be too sure about _that_, Mr. McDuck."

Another familiar voice – this one sounding empowering and victorious –spoke out from the opening of the hangar. It echoed throughout the hangar itself, directing everyone's attention to the speaker, who was none other than Gizmoduck. The robotic hero arrived in the hangar with a handcuffed Flintheart Glomgold in his possession. Elastigirl arrived as well, assisting the wounded Mr. Incredible in with her. And, finally, Superman – being the last one to show up – appeared, accompanying an also handcuffed Lex Luthor.

"These wimps barely even put up a fight." Gizmoduck said.

"Only because that worthless sack of Scottish filth doesn't have the gall to put up one!" Luthor berated Glomgold.

"I'll show _you_ gall, when we share the same prison cell, ya bald loser!"

The two businessmen continued bickering as they were brought aboard the Chinook, along with the battered Negaduck and Quackerjack, who were handcuffed together by Batman and Darkwing. Everyone was aboard the helicopter, except for Superman, Gizmoduck, Darkwing, and Batman, who all were perturbed by one thing. "Wait. We're missing others," indicated Batman.

"Who are we missing?" Gizmoduck inquired.

Before anyone could have answered the robotic duck's question, they heard the doors of the elevator to the sub level slide open. At first, they expected some unwelcome company to arrive in the hangar, preventing them from making an escape. The moment that Professor Norton Nimnul stepped out, it seemed to be just the case to them. However, it was soon revealed that Nimnul was simply another escorted prison, held at gunpoint by Ciciley. Heather and the Rescue Rangers accompanied them, approaching their friends by the Chinook.

"Hope y'all got room for one more." Ciciley said with a smile.

"We certainly do." Darkwing remarked, before Ciciley pushed the mad scientist into the helicopter. "What about Detective Navarro?"

"Forget her." Ciciley snapped. "We need to bust out of here now."

Ciciley made an attempt to board the helicopter, following the Rescue Rangers, who entered the moment that Nimnul was forced in. That was until Heather stopped her, grabbing her gently by the shoulder and saying, "Not without Sean. He's still somewhere here."

"Heather…" Ciciley turned to her, looking rather woeful. "I'm sorry, but Sean is…"

_KRURRRRACK-BANG!_

The sound of metal exploding and twisting caught their attention. It came from the lift that Heather, Ciciley, Nimnul, and the Rangers exited from a moment ago. Turning to see what was happening, they were shocked to see the elevator itself being flattened from the bottom up by an "immortalized" Detective Navarro, who emerged from the elevator shaft. She stepped right into the hangar, striding toward the Chinook, her wicked eyes glowing red from her newly-established heat vision ability.

"Sorry to disappoint you kids, but you're not going _anywhere_." Navarro declared.

Superman stepped in front of the group, putting himself between Navarro and his friends. "Give it up, Detective. You're not just dealing with one super being, but _two_."

"Well, I'll just have to kill two birds with one stone." Navarro stated.

Batman kept a close eye on Navarro's movements, and he noticed how Navarro was reaching behind her back. Remembering the weapon she was brandishing earlier, Batman immediately warned, "Superman, watch out! She's carrying a gun loaded with kryptonite bullets!"

The Dark Knight's warning came just as Navarro revealed the weapon and aimed it at the head of Superman. As she had done so, Heather made a move that could have only been accomplished through super speed. Time slowed down all around her, just as it usually did when she used that power, while she went to Superman and pushed him out of harm's way. Unbeknownst to her, however, Navarro anticipated such a move and held off pulling the trigger, until Heather stood exactly where she wanted her to be. And then, once she was in the crosshairs, Navarro finally pulled the trigger and unleashed a single kryptonite-laced bullet that flew toward Heather and connected right with her right arm, grazing it heavily.

Blood sprayed in all directions and Heather clutched her wounded arm, expressing a great deal of pain. Navarro grinned, and she prepared to fire the handgun once more – that time for killing Heather, instead of wounding her. It was an attempt foiled by Batman, who saw the next shot coming before it even happened, hurling his batarang at the gun and knocking it out of Navarro's grip. Before the super-powered detective could have made another move, Heather sped right up and tackled her body, throwing her body forcibly against the wall and denting it.

"Why are you doing this?" Heather asked.

"To get my damn life back, that's why!" Navarro bellowed.

Showing much more power than Heather, Navarro pushed the young woman away from her. Heather tumbled across the hangar, stopping right at the opening. She stood up and shook off the blow, but was then caught by surprise once more, as Navarro flew across the air and tackled her right out of the hangar. Both women crashed through the forestation outside, knocking down several trees in their path. Their bodies detached after soaring a couple of yards with Heather's skidding over several dirt, grass, and rocks until coming to a sickening halt.

Her body lied in a clearing, battered and bruised. Sections of her clothing were tattered and hanging from her body from the onslaught that Navarro let loose upon her. She fought to open her eyes and see where she had ended up. Only in doing so, she spotted Navarro's silhouette hovering in front of the moon. The insane super-powered and corrupted detective then flew down toward Heather with her right arm outstretched in front of her and a tightened fist at the end of it. Clearly she was going to give the final blow over Heather, ultimately killing her.

Of course, Heather was not going to allow that. Mustering as much strength as she could, she pushed herself off the ground and leaped up high, coming toward Navarro just as she was coming toward her. The moment that the two women's bodies came in contact, a massive shockwave was unleashed over the forest, knocking down a vast number of the trees within a huge proximity. In the end, it was Navarro's body that went down and crashed into the ground, creating a large crater in the ground.

Meanwhile, Heather was left feeling exhausted and victorious in midair. She was so delighted in her success that she barely noticed that she was hovering in the air. Once realization sunk in, she looked at herself and observed in amazement. After all the years of her life, she finally mastered the one ability that she never could…**the power of flight**!

Down below, Navarro began to moan from the tremendous blow she received. Heather heard her and knew that she had to put Navarro out completely in order to prevent her from hurting more people. It was a choice that she did not like at all, but it was the only one to make at the time. So she flew toward the crater, moving her body faster than a speeding bullet with both of her arms stretched out in front of her. Shutting her eyes tight, she braced herself for the impact.

_KRACK-BOOM!_

The bodies of Heather and Navarro busted through the earth's crust, generating a remarkable earthquake. Their battle took to below the surface – each blow unleashed between the two women resulted in a flat section of ground turning into a hill. At least twenty hills were created before the body of Navarro busted through the surface and soared high across the air, before coming through a nearby lake. Her body became like a skipping stone while bouncing over the lake's surface. It stopped on the shore, smacking hard against the rocks.

Bloodied and nearly broken, Navarro was initially showing her own battle scars. She could barely open both of her eyes – her newly-installed one having been completely bashed in – when Heather landed right before her – the conquering champion. Laughing weakly, Navarro muttered, "Go ahead. Kill me. One less super-powered _freak_ this world needs, right?"

As much as she wanted to acknowledge Navarro's request, Heather just could not bring herself to do so. "No…I'm not going to kill you. All my life, I've been scared of living in this world as whatever I am. I'm not a superhero, I'm not a Superwoman, and I'm not a freak. I'm just a person with a soul…just like you."

Navarro grinned. "Touching. But I lost my soul years ago, sweetie. I'm just a shell of my former self. I doubt if I'll even have a job once I'm back in Gotham."

"It's not too late." Heather said, offering her hand to Navarro. "Let me help you."

Navarro glanced at Heather's hand, as if she were contemplating on her offer. After some hesitation, she reached forward and took Heather's hand. Seeing a change happening in the detective, Heather smiled. Navarro returned the smile…only for it to transpire into a sinister grin. Heather felt Navarro's grip on her hand tighten, right before she felt a searing pain in her lower abdomen. She looked down to see that Navarro deeply stabbed her with a knife that had a kryptonite-laced blade. The weapon had been concealed in a lead holster that was strapped to her right black boot.

Becoming weak very fast, Heather was thrown to the ground by Navarro, who stood over Heather with her fresh eye glowing red. "I help no one but myself now, honey." Heather watched helplessly as her eye continued glowing in intensity – on the verge of unleashing a powerful blast of heat vision from it.

_BANG!_

Heather twitched, expecting the pop to have come from the blast of heat from Navarro's eye. She soon realized that it was not, seeing that nothing had come out of Navarro's eye. In fact, her eye suddenly stopped glowing with energy, and she was registering a stunned expression. That expression was soon masked with blood that ran down her face, just as her body fell backwards into the lake, creating a large splash.

Watching her go down, Heather spotted Ciciley far across the lake. She had Navarro's special handgun filled with kryptonite bullets aimed precisely where she stood before being killed. Heather felt relieved that she had come to her rescue; but soon she was not feeling anything at all. The kryptonite knife that stuck out of her abdomen was killing her from the inside. Slowly she started losing consciousness, the last image she saw was the Chinook, piloted by Launchpad McQuack, hovering over the area and shining a bright white light over her.

At least she believed the light came from the helicopter…


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Just as she saw a light flashing over her when she lost consciousness, Heather saw another when she regained it. Only this one did not come from a helicopter; it was from a doctor's flashlight, shining over both of her eyes. Her eyesight became focused, and she noted the identity of the doctor examining her – he was a short, middle-aged Asian male with a receding hairline and thick glasses. There was a nametag pinned on the left side of his lab coat that read "Dr. Ho Sung."

"Heather, can you hear me?" Dr. Sung inquired. "Are you alright?"

Heather was a bit dazed and confused. "Where am I?"

"Metropolis Hospital." She heard another voice tell her, and she directed her eyes to the left, finding its speaker. It was Ciciley, accompanied by Scrooge McDuck. "You've been out for nearly five whole days."

"How are ya feelin', lass?" Scrooge asked.

Heather brought her hand over her head, glancing over the room again. She was lying in a hospital bed with a gown on and machines connected to her, detecting her vital signs. Her eyes were then directed to the bed across from hers, where a familiar woman rested. Turning to Dr. Sung, she requested, "Can you elevate me please?"

Dr. Sung acknowledged her request and used a remote control device to bring up the top portion of Heather's bed. As it went up, she kept her eyes focused on the other bed, the face of the woman lying in it becoming clearer to her. At last, she saw it completely – it was her mother, Alicia Kelley. She was sleeping at the time she regained consciousness, but was not certain if she was awake when the doctors brought her in.

"How is she?" Heather asked.

"Well, thanks to some quick-thinking from your cousin and friends, we performed a blood transfusion, sometime after we got you patched up." Dr. Sung revealed – much to the surprise of Heather. "It turned out that all we needed was the blood of the next of kin to bring your mother back to full stability."

Heather glanced between the doctor and her mother, her face registering a mixture of excitement and gladness. "You mean…?"

"Your mother is going to be just fine." Dr. Sung said with a smile. "But I'd still keep an eye on her, just for safe measure."

Tears streamed down Heather's eyes, and she tried her best to keep from bursting into them long enough to keep her promise to the doctor. "You bet I will, Doctor. Thank you." Dr. Sung nodded in gratitude before turning away from Heather and walking out of the room, leaving Ciciley and Scrooge alone with her. "This whole time, I thought it was _me_ that was killing her."

"But it was _you_ that saved her." Scrooge stated.

"We only made sure to give her a small portion of your blood, so she won't be flying around the skies of Metropolis with you anytime soon." Ciciley jested, which made Heather chuckle a little.

"I'm surprised you were able to do it before I got all healed up," she said while touching the spot where Navarro stabbed her and feeling no pain at all. It reminded her of the recent excursion she and her friends had and brought her to ask Ciciley and Scrooge, "How is everyone doin'?"

Scrooge smiled. "Everyone's fine, lass. Mr. Incredible and his family realized that they're a lot stronger together than they imagined, so they're movin' closer to the city to keep an eye on criminal activity. And the Rescue Rangers are still patrollin' the streets as usual."

"What about Luthor and Glomgold?" Heather asked.

"The moment they were brought in for questioning, those two sang like hummingbirds, giving us the names of all the people who had association with them during their 'top secret' experiment." Ciciley informed. "One of the names on the list was Alexis Embers, a reporter from _The Daily Planet_."

Heather pondered on the name, recognizing it immediately. "She's the reason why I went to Hamilton in the first place."

"Well, you don't have to worry about her, because she was brought in for questioning yesterday." Ciciley stated. "Apparently she was an informant for Navarro and her partner, Gonzalez, working undercover as a reporter to get you closer to Luthor and Glomgold. She also gave a name that they gave as well – Buddy Pine."

Heather shook her head in response to the name. "Don't know any person by that name."

"We're looking into it." Ciciley told her.

"We?" Heather remarked, surprise showing upon her face.

"Oh, didn't I tell ya – I'm off suspension. I even got promoted to 'sergeant' for my awesome work on the case…with a little help from Elisa Maza, of course."

A huge smile came to Heather's face. "Congratulations, cousin! I bet you'll be really cleanin' up the streets of Gotham now."

"Yeah, which reminds me, I've gotta go meet up with my new 'special unit'. I check with ya later, cuz."

Just as Ciciley was on her way out of the room, Heather urgently asked her, "Cici! What about Sean?"

Ciciley stopped at the door with her back faced to Heather. She did not once glance her way when she said to her, "We'll find him…I promise." After making her assurance, Ciciley walked out of the hospital room.

Watching her go, Heather turned to Scrooge in confusion. "Well, did you guys find him at Hamilton or not?"

Scrooge did his best not to seem too hopeless while addressing her on the matter. "He wasn't there when we left, lass. And even if he were, the research center is no longer standing, after it imploded just a day after we left there."

"Then where is he? Where's my brother, Mr. McDuck?"

The old duck simply sighed and said, "Trust your cousin, Heather. She'll find him. I know she will."

* * *

On the rooftop of _The Daily Planet_, there was a gathering of heroes. Amongst them were Superman, Batman, Gizmoduck, Darkwing Duck, Goliath, and Launchpad McQuack. They stood there for nearly an hour, conversing with one another and getting to know each other's backgrounds. Out of them all, they found Goliath's to be the most intriguing, being more so than Superman's. For the tallest one on their special team, it was no doubt the gargoyle would prove to be a great commodity to them.

Finally, Ciciley arrived on the rooftop, delighted in seeing the six heroes still there and waiting for her. She did not want to look at herself as being the leader of this team that they unknowingly created out of their recent adventure, but it was her idea to bring them together as one, since half of them came from Metropolis and the other half stemming from Gotham City. Launchpad appeared to be the only exception, having served both Darkwing Duck and Scrooge McDuck in the two cities. Hopefully, after that very night, his work will be limited to only _one_ duck.

"Thanks for taking the time to meet up like this, guys." Ciciley said.

"No prob, Cici." Launchpad answered. "How's Heather holdin' up?"

"She's finally awake and talking again. I'm guessing she'll be walking again very soon." Ciciley told Launchpad. "And when she does, we're gonna bring her into the team. We'll need all the help we can get to finding both Sean and whatever associates Luthor and Glomgold have doing their dirty work. You guys come up with any possible leads?"

"Batman and I have got the League keeping track of any areas outside Gotham and Metropolis from the Watchtower, just in case there are operations elsewhere." Superman indicated.

Gizmoduck wheeled himself forward and informed, "I've recently uncovered a police report on the Beagle Boys breaking into Mr. McDuck's money bin. I know it sounds like an everyday thing – especially when it's the Beagle Boys we're talking about here – but the report mentioned something about a 'Beagle Girl,' which is a new one."

"Then that's where we'll start." Ciciley declared. "Even if it's the smallest crime, we can't let whatever leads we find get away from us."

"Let us make haste immediately." Goliath suggested. "The more time we waste, the more of it we give our adversaries to make another fatal move."

On Goliath's words, the heroes quickly departed from the _Daily Planet_ rooftop. Superman flew into the night sky, Gizmoduck activated his "helicopter mode" and took off as well, and both Goliath and Batman jumped over the edge of the rooftop, gliding in between the Metropolis skyscrapers. The only ones who remained on the rooftop were Ciciley, Darkwing, and Launchpad. Looking to them, Ciciley uttered in confusion, "What's the matter? Was the _Thunderquack_ too big to park on the roof?"

"Actually, the _Thunderquack_ is still being repaired." Launchpad remarked. "We, uh…came here in a taxi…and the meter's still runnin', D.W." Darkwing muttered to himself in anger, moving toward the exit with Launchpad following as he checked his wallet. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to carry any hundred dollar bills with you, would ya?" On that question, Darkwing's muttering grew even louder and angrier.

Observing the exchange between the two, Ciciley shook her head and grinned. "What the hell have I gotten myself into _now_…"


End file.
